The Blood of Gallifrey's Children
by Sharadethia
Summary: The Master-broken and a vicious shell after being trapped in the Time War. The Doctor-alone and drifting through space with nothing left for him. T for dark themes, language, and tasteful slash. Completed!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Shelter of the Past

A tall, brown haired man sat by a phonebox. There was a small area around him that no one dared to enter. Something about him seemed… dark, sad. It was something that repelled them. A policeman, talking into his radio, noted this man. With a glance down the street to make sure no cars were coming, he walked over to the man by the phonebox.

"Sir, you're loitering and the shop-owners don't appreciate it." The man stood up and looked the policeman over.

"What's your name, officer?" The officer, taken aback by the question, paused.

"Timothy Harbringer."

"Well, Timothy. I think that I'll just have to leave then." The officer, still confused, nodded and walked down the street. He didn't see the brown-haired man walk into the tiny phonebox, and he didn't see the blue box disappear out of time and space, either.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked away from the control panel slowly. He didn't have the will to walk anywhere. He was exhausted. He was all alone in the world of possibilities; a world of time and space. He walked down the hallway that led to the library, unsure of where to go or what to do. The deathly silence followed him through the TARDIS. He opened the door to the library and pulled out a book. It was in Gallifreyan. He's read it hundreds of times before. It was short and yet incomparably fascinating to him. The worn, red leather cover felt flimsy in his hands from the use. He sat down in a familiar chair and began to flip through the introduction. The starting page began with what he would have deemed to be the best line ever written, "Time itself is only labelled by what we care to label it, since there is no strict progression of cause to effect when everything can be changed by small, everyday actions." Something about that brought back so many memories, most of them very unwanted. Childhood and past were blocked out as the Doctor continued reading the paragraph. The further he went, the more it began to remind him of one of his old friends. "To control time is to control everything. Without the ability given to us by the TARDISes we would be nothing. The job of the Time-Lord is to, not only protect, but govern in a way that is considered both fair and duly right in accordance with the species being controlled. To be the lord over all one must be willing to-" The Doctor closed the book at the word lord. It was too much of an old Gallifreyan thought process. The book had lost its appeal and its mysteries. He stood up and put the red-bound book back where he gotten it carefully. He didn't know what to do next. All of time and space lay before him and yet he had nothing to do, nothing he wanted to do. It was so dark to him. He walked to the control room of the TARDIS and set the controls to random.<p>

"Please take me somewhere I'd like." In reply, the TARDIS started up. He hit a few buttons to stabilize her and warm up all of the gears moving around. He heard her usual landing noise after being tossed around for a few moments. He took a step toward to door, wondering what lay outside the doors. A familiar sensation of curiosity rose in him. Naturally, that curiosity had to be sated, so he walked over to the doors and flung them open dramatically. Outside laid a dusty horizon. Dirtily, he glared back at his TARDIS. "I didn't ask for a wasteland." he grumbled to himself, but continued on, wondering why his machine had brought him to a desert planet of all places.

I brought you where you needed to go. the TARDIS said, softly. He ignored the comment and took out his screwdriver. He began to walk toward the single, setting sun in front of him. The sand began to shift uncomfortable under his shoes and the grainy remnants of rocks sifted into his shoes. He sighed and shook them around a little. When the Doctor looked around him, he noted that the entire landscape was not only bleak, but barren. And yet, he knew something was wrong. Something began stirring inside him, a feeling that was so rare and yet… it had only recently been an issue. There was another Time-Lord nearby. The Doctor shook his head.

"I must be sick." he muttered. He began walking back to the TARDIS a little quicker than he had meandered out to the dunes. He went inside and closed her doors tightly. He locked it and looked around. Sitting down, the Doctor took his shoes off and shook the sand out of them. Barefoot, he walked back to the room that he tended to call his own. Sometimes a companion would ask to use it and he would let them. He took off his tie and set it carefully on a dresser nearby. He sat on the bed, staring at the door. He wondered why the feeling had gone away as soon as he noticed it. What was going on? Was it just him? Was someone trying to confuse him? Was there actually another Time-Lord nearby? The last idea was preposterous. The Master had been shot, his body burned and then later he was brought back to Gallifrey. And Gallifrey was lost in a time-lock forever. No one was able to travel in and out of it. The Doctor was sure that it was just him. All other ideas were absolutely outrageous. He closed his eyes, putting his back against the headboard, and fell asleep.

When he woke up, he found that his neck had a crick in it. He cracked his neck slowly and stood up. He took off the suitjacket he had been wearing and walked to the front of the TARDIS. He wanted to go back outside and look around some more, but he wasn't sure what it was that made him think there was another Time-Lord out there. It was insane. Maybe he was losing it. With that thought, he slipped his shoes on, opened the doors, and stepped back outside. He felt strange wearing only his shirt and pants, no tie and jacket, but it was too hot for those anyway. The west seemed to be a particularly pleasing direction to travel, so that was exactly what the Doctor did. He ignored the grit filling the area around his feet and looked at the lighting sky. When something hard collided with his foot, he was sure that it was just a rock, but being as curious as always, he stooped down to get a closer look. He was surprised to see a human gun. He looked at the ground to see something white sticking out of the grey-looking sand. He walked over quickly and picked it up. It was a straightjacket. Another metre or so ahead, there was a red collar sticking out the ground. The Doctor picked them all up, leery of what sort of joke was being played on him. "This isn't funny." he said, softly. In fact, it was painful. The Master, whom he had neglected to save… His friend… his enemy. He heard laughter from behind him. He turned around to see a young girl of maybe seven years looking at him and laughing.

"Hello." he said, smiling.

"You're the Doctor!" she said, smiling back. "You've got the blue box. You save the Earth. And you always have companion to travel with to make yourself less lonely. You destroy whole planets and leave your friends for dead. I know all about you!" Her words bit into the Doctor like a blade.

"What makes you say all that?"

"Mr. Harold, Doctor. He thinks about you all the time." Harold Saxon. The name of the former Prime Minister of England. "He said that you'd be more than happy to see him. He said he saw your box yesterday so he put those there for you. Jokes, he said they were. He called you a word I didn't understand after that. Would you like to see him?" Her words were jumbled together so fast that the Doctor had to take a moment to process what was going one. Surely this was a joke of some sort. A sick, sick joke. "Do you not want to see him? Do you want to leave him behind again?"

"I never-" The Doctor looked at the collar in his arms. "Yes, I would like to see Mr. Harold, please." She jumped with joy and pointed to the south.

"That's where the colony is. Come follow me. It's only a few minutes away." He nodded and put the gun in the back of his waistband. It felt unnatural to be traveling with a weapon. He didn't know how companions like Jack stood having the constant weight. He held the collar and leash in his hand and draped the white jacket over his shoulder. He followed her, trying to organise the thoughts flying through his head. It was impossible! The Master was trapped in the Time-Lock of Gallifrey with all of the others! He was alone, surely! What if he wasn't alone? What if the Master really was back for something impossible reason; what if another death had ben defied? Would the drums be louder? Softer? Would he still be the hungry monster he was the last time they'd been together?

"What is your name?" the Doctor asked the young child, who turned around and smiled. She began walking backward.

"I'm Mesae. From the planet of Rhi. This is where I was born. What's your name? I know that the Doctor isn't your real name. Mr. Harold said that that wasn't his real name. He said that there was only one person alive who knew what it really was." She continued walking, facing the Doctor.

"Just call me the Doctor. It's easier that way. My name doesn't mean anything anymore. Just something I used to be called once, a very long time ago." She nodded, as if that was an acceptable answer, and continued moving to the horizon. She stomped her feet around for a moment and then returned to walking. The collar was beginning to drag the Doctor down. The emotional weight it carried was almost too much to bear.

"And here we are!" she cried, happily. She kicked some sand to the side and held up a piece of rope. She pulled it and a wooden plank flipped up. The Doctor looked at the ladder leading down. "Don't be a chicken, just go down." she chided. He went down the ladder carefully, wondering if this was all some sort of elaborate trap that had been set up by an older enemy that wanted him dead. It was always a possibility.

"So, Mesae, where is the Mast… Mr. Harold?" the correction rolled off of his tongue oddly. They were encased in concrete. The walls formed a tall, wide rectangle. To the sides were some doors. They appeared to be made out of a simulated wood.

"Oh. I took the entrance right by his cell. Just a second and we'll be there." Cell? That implied captivity of some sort. What was going on? The two began to walk down the hallway with the girl leading. She stopped in front of a metal door that was different from all the others. "Feel free to take all the time you want. He hasn't had a visitor ever since he's been here." She walked to the other side of the hallway and sat down.

"How long has that been?" The girl pondered the question.

"A month or two." she said and pulled a small paper out of her side pocket. She looked intently at the Doctor and then back at the paper.

"What is this place?" he asked, trying not to sound too uninformed, but he still didn't quite comprehend what was going on.

"Well, it's a sanctuary, of course. We accept all visitors of a non-violent nature under our care. Anyone who has been hurt or is considered mentally unstable will be cared for until they are safe to be released to the surface where they will then be transported to their respective planets." She smiled at herself as she recited the motto she'd learned by heart perfectly. It gave her a sense of pride to carry on her work. The Doctor nodded to himself and put a hand on the doorknob. Before he could rethink it, he opened it wide. Inside it was dark. There was something wet on the floor. He closed the door behind him and turned the light on. In the corner was a small figure, curled up against the wall. He was muttering to himself. Muttering in Gallifreyan.

"Master?" he asked, not believing his eyes. The other man's head jerked up. His head twitched to the side and he smiled, his eyes were small slits. His body was jerking spasmodically in beats of four. "Master, is that you?"

"My name." he said quietly. "My name." He began to get louder. "My name. MY NAME!" he screamed. The Doctor took a slow step forward. "Say it again!"

"Master." Laughter filled the room and the Master struggled to stand up. He looked gaunt and tired. His features were sunken in and his eyes were drooping.

"It's been so long, Time-Lord Victorious! " He began to tap his foot to the same beat he had been twitching to earlier. He nodded his head to the beat as well. His smiled turned to a pained grimace. He let out a small scream and collapsed to his knees. The Doctor dropped to his knees and brought the Master into an embrace. When he looked at the ground, he saw what was slicking it. There was a red, sticky fluid running from the bed. And there were gashes and cuts all along the Master's too-thin body. He held him tighter.

"Master, Master." he said, softly as the Master cringed away. "What's happened to you?" The older Time-Lord looked up at the Doctor.

"The time-lock, Doctor. You were right. The last days of the war were hell. And I went back with them. Rassalon survived… tied me up for helping you and destroying his plans." He sounded like he was going to say something more, but he began screaming again. Soon he was thrashing so hard that the Doctor had to step back. The door flung open and a young woman rushed in and over to the man writhing wildly on the floor. She grabbed his head and touched her forehead to his gently. He stopped moving abruptly. She stood up and looked at the Doctor.

"Hello. You must be the Doctor that he thinks about so much. I'm Rosealyen. Welcome to the Sanctuary of Rhi." She was wearing a white dress. It went to her knees. On her feet were thick boots that seemed to contrast her looks. She looked at the other Gallifreyan and then at the Doctor. "He needs you." she said simply and led him out of the room. She closed it behind him and looked at the little girl. "Mesae, thank you for finding him."

"Mr. Harold found him. He kept screaming to be let out, that his doctor was here, all last night. We opened the field and let him walk around for a while. He came back and fell back asleep." Rosealyen walked over to Mesae and hugged her.

"You've done your shift. I will talk to the Doctor so you can sleep or play." Mesae hugged her back and waved to the Doctor before she ran down the hallway.

"She's very observant." the Time-Lord noted, smiling after her. Even though the thought of the Master, insane and broken, in the room next to him was overwhelming, he still had to notice the brilliant little girl.

"Mesae is my half-sister. She's worked here at the sanctuary all her life. It's all she knows, but she loves it. She will grow up to be a great nurse someday…" As if reminded that there was something else in the world other than her half-sister, Rosealyen stopped herself. "Mr. Doctor, would you talk to me in the Rest Centre?" The Doctor nodded. She walked down the hallway for a moment before saying anything else. "Mr. Harold has a strong mind and we have not been able to discover all we wanted to. For example, there was only one person he ever mentioned and that person was the only other one of his kind left in existence. This man travelled through time and space itself. There was no way of communicating with the man known as the Doctor…" She took a turn where the halls met at a cross-roads. In front of him, there was a large area filled with trees. It was a humid, comfortable atmosphere. People and species of all ages were wandering around under the shade. Several of them nodded or smiled to the nurse the Doctor was walking with.

"So the Mast… Mr. Harold told you all this?" he asked, not believing the Master would tell anyone about something so personal or sensitive. Rosealyen laughed.

"Oh no, no, no. Everyone from Rhi has telepathic abilities. That is the reason why most Rhians are greatly adapted for this job. We can feel exactly what our visitors need and we can help them in whatever way we can. But Mr. Harold was the first person we've ever come across that was even partly immune to our powers. He can refuse us information, but we can still control his physical state when need be." The Doctor nodded. That explained how she knocked the Master out by simply touching him. That was a formidable power indeed. Rosealyen sat down on a bench and looked up expectantly at the Doctor. He sat beside her.

"Was there anything in particular you want to tell me?" he asked, softly. He didn't want to hear about how much his friend hated him, about how insane the drums had made him.

"Yes. We are only a temporary sanctuary, in most cases. I understand that Time-Lords can live for as long as they wish. In no way, shape, or form am I trying to make you take him. That would be cruel. I just want you to know that this is not what Mr. Harold needs. What he needs is someone who knows him to try to communicate with him. Ever since he came here, he hasn't eaten out of his own free will and he's been intentionally blood-letting. We've tried to stop him, but he has a mind of his own…" She paused, monitoring the Doctor's expression. "I've been through a few of his most powerful thoughts and emotions recently. There's one thing that we're trained to do as nurses- we are supposed to cure the trigger for the visitor. The one thing that always seems to send Mr. Harold into a delirious, destructive state is you. The only way to cure him is to fix that. And that is something that we can't do." The Doctor took a deep breath and looked at the trees in front of him.

"If I were to take him with me, what would you have me do?" She sighed and took a paper out of her pocket. She studied it and then put it back where she got it.

"You would need to make sure that he eats at least three meals a day that live up to the nutritional expectations of your species. You would need to make sure that he cannot harm himself in any way, and he cannot be allowed to wander freely. During that time, it would be best of you could figure out what exactly triggers his attacks and how to stop that. It seems like a lot, and it is, but I think this is what is best for Mr. Harold." The Doctor believed her whole-heartedly. It was just that he wasn't sure he could trust himself with handling the Master. She noticed the look of hesitancy on his face. She brought a hand to his forehead.

_Doctor, please, listen. _

_What is it?_

_This is what Mr. Harold was thinking two days ago when I had to monitor him after he tried to hang himself- __**1-2-3-4… 1-2-3-4….1-2-3-4…1-2-3-4… The drums. They don't stop. They never stop. They won't stop. Rassalon did this. It's all his fault. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor, where are you? Dark. It's so dark here. I'm alone. So alone, Doctor. Please help me. Please. Please. **__You see? This is what he needs. Please at least consider it._

With that, she pulled her hand away. The Doctor sagged forward a little. The other woman's mental presence leaving him was draining. A boy of about thirteen walked up. He was wearing a white, buttoned up shirt with white pants. He had red specks flecked across his face and chest.

"Rosealyen, Matron Hiqon attacked another one of the Sisters of Plenitude who just arrived. Whenever you can, your help would be appreciated." He nodded to the Doctor and then jogged away. The nurse sighed.

"Doctor, just consider it. Feel no pressure or obligation from me, please. If you do decide to take him with you, just open your mental connection to me and let me know. I will be nearby at all times to help you. If you'll excuse me, I have to see if the cat-fight got too bad." The Doctor smiled at her small joke about the cat-nuns' argument.

"Go ahead." She walked away quickly. The Doctor took another deep breath and thought about the Master. He owed this to his friend, that was undeniable. What the Doctor was truly concerned about was what the Master might do under the Doctor's watch. Rosealyen said that he had tried to hang himself. Would he try other methods of suicide? The Doctor was not prepared to lose his friend again… He was pulled out of his thoughts by Mesae sitting down beside him.

"The Master thinks about you a lot. " she said, fiddling with a folded paper in her hand. It was very worn. "That's what he calls himself sometimes, when he doesn't think I'm listening." The Doctor noticed that Rosealyen had been handling a very similar paper earlier.

"What is that?" he asked. Mesae pulled it further toward her body and looked at it carefully.

"It's a drawing." she said. "The Master drew it on our oaths." She handed him the paper. On it was her scribbly handwriting declaring her intentions of becoming a nurse. "We all have to write then if we want to join. When I get enough training, I get to write new ones." Below her scrawl were small, messy drawings of all of the Doctor's regenerations. The current one was larger than the others and of a better quality. "He took them from me and Rosealyen and handed them back the next day. He said that this was the Doctor and this was how we'd know it was him." She pointed to the sketch of his current face. "He pointed out this one in specific. You know that he screams your name all the time? Night and day, sometimes. And whenever we try to listen to his memories, there are always drums in the back." She began tapping her finger to he beat she had heard once. "It's always there, tapping…" she shivered, but didn't notice that she had done so. "Do you wanna know what's weird, though? With the memories of you, the drums are quieter…" she trailed off, watching to little kids chase each other around a tree. The two little boys were laughing and trying to catch each other. Both were running, running as fast as they could.

"Does he ever mention Gallifrey?" The Doctor wasn't sure if he wanted the answer to that question or not.

"Who's Gallifrey?" The Doctor dropped the question. He stared at the two little boys. The shorter one caught up with the taller one and tackled him. They started laughing as they wrestled on the grass beneath them.

Koschei was running through the tall, red grasses. Behind him was Theta. They were both gasping for air and trying to outrun the other.

"I'll get you!" Theta shouted, barely raking in enough air to keep moving. Koschei gave a hoarse laugh and forced his legs to keep moving.

"No, you won't!" he shouted back. Theta laughed and sped up. He managed to get within range of his friend. He lunged at Koschei and brought him to the ground. They were both laughing and gasping at the same time, trying to get enough air to feed their starving bodies and enjoying the moment as it was.

"Doctor, I've got to sleep now." She started away, with less tact than her half-sister had. She stopped when she was a few steps away and looked back at him. "The Master needs you more than he'll ever tell you." she said, and walked away. The Doctor looked back at the two boys who were now trying to wrestle with each other. He made a slow, pained blink and opened his mental connection that Rosealyen forged.

_I will take him with me. _

_Okay, I will be with you in a moment to help. _

There was a painful silence for the next minute as the Doctor sat there, trying to push out images of the Master hanging himself or tearing his skin open with whatever he could find. How far the Time-Lords had fallen from what they once were. Rosealyen walked over stood in front of him. The Doctor stood up.

"I'll take him now. The sooner I can try to work with him, the better this will work." The nurse nodded.

"There is no policy dictating when he has to leave, so you can take him now. I can escort you to your phonebox in case he tries to escape or something. We still have mental barriers on him that don't allow him to leave any boundaries we establish." The Doctor nodded and stood up. He began to walk to where they came from. It was silent as the two pondered the Time-Lord in the cell that lay ahead of them. When they reached the door, Rosealyen paused. "We have drugged him to make him more manageable. We rarely use anything physical, but we determined that it was appropriate in this case." She opened the door and turned the light on inside the room. The Master was in a ball under the sink, whimpering. He was staring at something that wasn't there and it was terrifying him. The nurse walked over to him and touched him. He suddenly noticed that the creature him imagination had conjured up was false, but he remained curled in a ball, his knees hugged to his chest.

"Master?" the Doctor asked, getting on his knees by his old friend. "We're leaving now; we're going to my TARDIS, okay?" He held a hand out to the other Time-Lord, who accepted it nervously. The Doctor grabbed the straightjacket from the bed and gently put it on the Master. Then he undid the collar and placed it around his neck. Rosealyen looked at the two of them and then stepped to the side. "Does he have anything else?" he asked. Rosealyen shook her head.

"This was all he had with him at the time." The Doctor began to lead his friend out, one hand on the leash, the other on his back. When they reached the ladder, the Doctor handed the leash to Rosealyen.

"Please hold this. I'll go up first and then you can let him go and follow carefully. I will make sure that he doesn't try to run when he reaches the surface." Laughter erupted from the previously silent Master.

"Run? How can I run? You're everywhere!" The cry was concerning, but the Doctor couldn't think of anything to do, but get him back to the TARDIS where he could be cared for. The Doctor walked up the ladder and opened the wooden plank separating them from the outside. He got to the top and then stood on the sand. He looked down.

"Okay, Master." The Master twitched a few times before grabbing the first rung. With a pained look, he managed to get up by balancing carefully on the ladder with the nurse following him. When all three of them were on the surface, the Doctor closed the wooden plank. The Master began tapping his sides with his hands to the beat of the drums in his head.

"Doctor, you're a very kindly man." she said, watching the Master carefully.

"You don't know him very well!" the Master proclaimed. "He's killed entire planets! Wiped them from existence! He kills! Kills! 1,2,3,4… 1,2,3,4…1,2,3,4…" The medicine was starting to make the drums louder. The Doctor felt it.

"Rosealyen, we need to get him to my TARDIS before the drums get any louder." He noticed the look of confusion on her face as her pace sped up. "My phonebox is called a TARDIS." She nodded at his explanation.

"I only gave him a mild sedative. It shouldn't be affecting him this seriously." The Doctor smiled as he saw a familiar blue colour on the horizon.

"He's a Time-Lord. Medicine can affect us differently than other species. And it also simply could be that it's only a problem for him as well." The Master scoffed and shook his head in patterns of four.

"No. No. No. No." he said, quietly. "No. No. No. No." Rosealyen spotted the phonebox and smiled.

"So that's your TARDIS?" she asked. The Doctor nodded. He would never admit it, but he was proud of his majestic blue box. Sure, it had a tendency to land in odd places at odd times and the Chameleon Circuit was broken, but that was what added to her charms. At least, that was what the Doctor thought.

"She's my TARDIS…" he said, fishing the key out of his pocket. He put it in the lock and turned it. The doors opened. Before he could go in, the nurse put a hand on the Master's shoulder. She put her other palm on his forehead and rested it there for a moment. Both of them seemed to have suddenly fallen asleep. After a few seconds, her hand dropped.

"I removed the mental shields. Now he can travel without barriers." The Doctor backed into the TARDIS, the Master behind him, muttering under his breath softly.

"Thank you for everything, Rosealyen. Tell Mesae that I thank her. And maybe someday Mr. Harold will." Rosealyen smiled brightly and stepped back. She held a hand up to the Doctor.

"May peace follow your steps." she said; it was a traditional Rhian parting statement. She thought it fit rather well. She looked at the Master. "May peace follow your steps as well." she added. The Doctor smiled at her.

"Thank you so much. May peace guide and follow you." he said, and closed the door of the TARDIS. He led the Master, who was beginning to look a little distant, down the halls of the TARDIS. The Master was no longer making snide or insane remarks, just simply staring into the distance tiredly. The Doctor found a suitable room and brought the Master inside. "I'll be right back." he promised, and walked back to his control room after shutting and locking the only way out of the room, so the Master couldn't wander. There was a heavy weight inside the TARDIS. It pressed upon the Doctor, making it hard for him to breathe. There was nothing to do at the controls, so, indecisively; he walked down the hallways to where he had left the Master. He looked in to see that the other Time-Lord was unconscious after the 'mild' sedatives that Rosealyen gave him. In a way, the Doctor was glad because he didn't want to have to deal with his old friend just yet. The Master was on the floor, in a ball, completely unresponsive. The Doctor looked at the objects in the room, trying to determine what he should take out. He walked over to the nightstand by the bed and brought it out into the hallway. He also dragged out the dresser after imagining the Master banging his head on the sharp edges. The bed had poles above it where one could hang curtains. And also themselves. After a moment of consideration, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and undid all of the screws in the bed. It collapsed into a pile with a loud bang. He took his time to remove the timbers. Soon, all that there was left in the room was the mattress, two blankets, and two pillows for the Master. The Doctor walked over to the mess of a Time-Lord in the corner of the room. He knelt beside him.

"Master? What did Rassalon do to you?" There was no response. With a deep sigh, the Doctor picked him up and put him on the mattress. He took off the collar and the straightjacket before pulling the blanket over the sleeping Time-Lord. The Doctor walked out of the room. He moved the remaining furniture into a nearby closet and looked around. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted or needed to do. There was no driving pressure, nothing making him do anything. The freedom was a little terrifying. He walked back to the Master's room. There was no change in the other Time-Lord's position. The Doctor walked over to him slowly, trying to figure out what to do. He sat next to his friend, on the floor, and watched him. "I promise that we will visit the most amazing places known to Time-Lords. I won't leave you behind ever again. I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4

-**Warning! This chapter contains instances of self-harm! Do not read if that is an issue for you! **

_Also, I swear, there's a deeper plot to this than just emo Master and the Doctor being... well... the Doctor. It's coming! I promise!_

* * *

><p>The Master sat in silence, in the corner of the room the Doctor had shoved him in. It was so quiet, except for the beating sound pulsing insistently through his head. It would never stop. It never did. It kept going. He opened his eyes and saw that he was shaking. He curled his hands into fists and felt his nails cutting into his palms. He crawled over to the door and tried to open it. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't open his mouth. He wanted to kill. He wanted to feel cold blood dripping down his hands. The soothing rush of adrenaline would surely cause the drums to go away. He smiled as he imagined tearing the Doctor's hearts out slowing. Having the pulsating red warmth cover him, bathing in the Doctor's glorious blood. The spurts coming out in beats of four, just like the beats in his head. The sounds that only he could hear. The almighty sound racked through his body and he crumpled to the floor, his blood-lust building. He wanted to taste the metal on his tongue. He felt his pulse synch with the beats in his head. He screamed and threw his head back wildly. It hit the floor and he felt his pulse further. He brought a hand up to his mouth and bit it as hard as he could. The metallic, warm taste curved his bloodlust. He waited a moment before spitting the blood onto the floor. But the relief only lasted a second. The door opened and the Doctor stared at the Master who was lying on the floor, tearing at his face with his nails. He dropped to his knees and grabbed the Master's hands. He forced them away from the other Time-Lord's bleeding face.<p>

"Stop!" he cried. The Master just laughed and licked a trail of blood that was leading down from his eyebrow. His eyes rolled back into his head as he screamed his joy at the indescribable joy of having the heavy, metallic taste of blood flow through his system. The Doctor pinned the Master down. "Master!" The insane man froze all his movements.

"Doctor." he said, eyes wide, as if he hadn't noticed him before. "Doctor. You're here." The Doctor nodded and got off of the other Time-Lord.

"Yes. I'm here. What's wrong? What did Rassalon do to you?" The Master rubbed his hands across his face, smearing the blood all over himself. He looked at the Doctor's hands.

"He reversed the effect of Lucy's counter-resurrection mix." The Doctor nodded. If he was starving himself that meant that he no longer needed to eat as he used to. "But they left me there. They left me on the mountains. They tied me there and threw meat to me like a dog. And all I could drink was the blood. It heated me when I was cold and it cooled me when I was hot. The precious blood was there for me when you weren't!" The Doctor stood up and looked down at the figure below him. He walked out of the room, closed the door behind him, and walked to a nearby bathroom. He pulled out a red towel and got it wet. The Doctor walked back to the room. The Master was still in the same position as before, only he was twitching more spastically than before.

"Master, hold still." He stopped moving. The Doctor gently pulled his hands away from his face and looked at the cuts. "Let me know if I hurt you." He nodded, obediently. The Doctor brought the towel over the Master's forehead. The water dripped down onto his neck and mixed with more of the blood. The Master winced as the Doctor put pressure on one of the deeper cuts. The Doctor shook his head at the older Time-Lord. Carefully, he blotted at the cuts. He brought the cloth down to the Master's neck, about to finish, when he noted small, thin white lines on his skin that led into his shirt. The Doctor pulled at the hem, trying to see how bad they were. "What did you do?" he asked.

"The drums are only quieted by blood." the Master said, reassuringly. Something Mesae said, about them only being quieter with memories of the Doctor. It explained why, all of a sudden, the Master was behaving.

"I don't believe that." the Doctor said and pulled the Master's shirt over his head. The Master shivered. The Doctor looked at his arms and chest. They were covered in thin scars. Some of them were new, some were old, and some wounds were still scabs. Not only that, but his ribs jutted out from his skin and all of his bones seemed sharp. He was too skinny. The Doctor moved to see the Master's back. His spine was jutting out roughly, but he scars weren't as bad as the ones on his chest. "Oh, Koschei." he said, painfully. He looked into the Master's eyes. There was something there, something that had been hidden. It seemed as though he were about to cry. Suddenly, that changed.

"THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" he erupted. Surprised, the Doctor flinched back a little.

"Master. I'm sorry, Master." It was quiet. The Master looked at his shirt and then at the Doctor.

"Are you done gaping at my body or should I stay shirtless for a while?" he asked. The Doctor sighed and handed him his shirt.

"I was just trying to make sure that you were okay." He noticed the red area around his neck. He assumed that was from his attempt to hang himself.

"I'm never going to be okay, Doctor. And it's your fault. Thanks to you the drums will always be there." The Doctor stood up and held a hand out to the Master, who had just pulled his shirt back over his head.

"One of the nurses in the sanctuary told me that that wasn't true. Now come on, I'm going to get you food." The Master didn't accept the hand. Instead, he laid his back to the ground and stared at the ceiling. "Master, I'm not going to play games with you."

"Really?" he asked, sounding surprised and sarcastic at the same time. "For once you're not going to play around with me and then leave me? That's a shock." The Doctor bent down a little and left his hand out for the Master. "You're not going to going to make me do anything." he added.

"Get up. We're getting you something to eat." The Master wouldn't stand up. The Doctor grabbed him under his arms and hauled him to his feet. He began to half-drag, half-lead him out of the room. It was scary how little the Master weighed. The Doctor tried to ignore that as he pulled him further into the hallway. The Master growled loudly and held himself up.

"I can walk." he spat and dusted himself off a little. The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, you can." He looked at the Master's gaunt face and felt a pang of guilt. This was all his fault and he knew it. The Master knew that he knew it. "Now come on." He turned away quickly. He didn't look back at the other Time-Lord. The Master considered running away, running through the TARDIS just to lead the Doctor on a merry chase, but he knew that he wouldn't last long. He hardly had enough energy, as it was, to simply walk. He led the Master to the back of the TARDIS where there was a kitchen. He pulled out a banana and unpeeled it. He handed it to the Master, who simply stared at it. "Eat it." he commanded.

"What if I said no?" the Master asked. As much as he wanted to eat, as hungry and tired as he was, he would never listen to a command from the Doctor. He would starve himself to death just to see the Doctor's power relinquished. The Doctor knew this all too well. He closed his eyes.

"Please, Master." he begged. "I need you to eat. Please." The Master smiled at his newfound control and took a small bite of the banana. He wanted more. He wanted to eat all of it. But he had to get the Doctor to grovel for it. He was going to have to grovel for the Master to do anything at all. "I'm begging you to eat it all. If you die, I can't live without you. Please, Master." The Master gave a weak laugh and ate the rest of the banana. He threw the peel on the ground and looked at the Doctor, who was rummaging through a fridge. He pulled out a candy bar. It looked good… So good… The Master bit his tongue to keep from asking for it. The Doctor handed it to the Master and stepped back. The Master held it over the sink and tilted his head.

"You're going to have to try harder than that if you want me to eat anything at all. I'd love to starve. To sit here and waste away for the next few weeks, eating absolutely nothing." The Doctor had already begged. He wasn't sure what else the Master wanted so badly, other than to see his precious Time-Lord on his knees. And that was exactly what the Doctor did. He did not enjoy it, but he needed to get the Master to eat. He would not let the Master's need for control kill him.

"I'm on my knees, pleading, for you to eat something. What more do you want?" The Master chuckled and tousled the Doctor's hair. The demeaning gesture was not well received, but the only move made was on the Master's part. He opened the candy wrapper and ate it. He was getting tired, losing all of his energy quickly. He hadn't eaten in days and the walking had tired him out. The Doctor noticed this and motioned for the Master to go back to his room. The Master, too tired to think about much else after the sudden onset of exhaustion, walked back to his room. He opened the door and went to the corner of the room where he had been before. He sat there, against the wall. The Doctor picked up the towel on the floor and walked back out, quietly. He shut and locked the door. He walked to the TARDIS control panel and set it to be floating around in space. He was preparing for the unlikely event that the Master tried to escape. He didn't seem to be in a good enough state to run anywhere, but the Doctor couldn't be too sure. He began to click several buttons. He looked at the screen ahead of him. He pulled a lever and smiled to himself. He had locked the controls. No one could move the TARDIS until the Doctor said it could be moved. He went into the kitchen and picked up the banana peel on the floor. He threw it in the trashcan and sat down on in a chair in the back of the room. What had he gotten himself into? His friend was insane and who knew how long it would take before he would go back to normal, if he ever could.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Calm Below the Waves

**Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence. **

Pounding… Pounding… Pounding… The throbbing at the base of his skull was overwhelming. The Master crawled off of the mattress, blankets trailing behind him. It was so terrible, the constant noise pulsating through his every thought. He looked up and saw that, by the door, there was a tray full of food. Without thinking twice, the Master scrambled over to it. He swallowed the glass of orange juice in seconds. He took the cinnamon roll off of the plate and ate it greedily, enjoying every bite. After that, he licked his fingers clean and ate the bacon that was still sitting beside the empty glass. He sat back. His stomach was feeling upset. It hadn't eaten anything in such a long time. He moved over to the bed and lay down. He looked into the corner of the room where he had last remembered being. Piled carefully there was a stack of clothes. The Master walked over to them. There was a red shirt and jeans. As well as replacements for everything else he was wearing. Only, there were no shoes and the boots he had been wearing earlier were gone. "Doctor, you're really paranoid about losing me, aren't you?" he asked, not very loudly. Something, somewhere, deep inside of him, was glad that the Doctor cared enough to do all this. He would never admit it, but he was glad the Doctor was there for him. He stripped off his old clothes, which were doused in sufficient amounts of blood, grime, and sand, and began to put on the new clothes. He pulled the pants on and then his shirt. As he was pulling the shirt on, he noticed how emaciated he really was as he was dressing. He poked one of his ribs, ignoring the scars that crossed his body everywhere. He was surprised to find, after a moment, that it was his perfectly his size. How did the Doctor know all that? He bent down and put the white socks on his feet. The room was colder where he was. "Would putting a heater in here kill you?" he asked, again to himself. He walked back to the bed and sat on the mattress. The tray of food was still sitting by the door. The Master was no longer hungry, but simply queasy from eating too much, too fast, after not eating in such a long time. He set his head back against the wall and tried to ignore the tensing in his stomach and the banging in his head. It began to lessen and the Master looked to the door in anticipation. He forgot all of his pains and leaned forward .There was a moment of silence before the Doctor opened the door and looked in. He looked at the Master and then at the tray by his feet.

"Thank you." he said, sincerely. The Master bit down a response that was less than kind. After all, this man was holding his drums at bay, as he always had.

"Yeah." the Master said, standing up. He walked over to the Doctor and looked him up and down. "You know, you're still a twig. You're always a twig. In all of your regenerations that I've seen." The Doctor smiled and poked the Master's still-visible rib cage. For a moment, he forgot how their relationship was supposed to work. They were supposed to be enemies, but for a second, just a second, they were friends again

"Twig? You're calling me small? You're thinner than a sheet of paper!" the Doctor proclaimed. He noticed the look of amusement on the Master's face. It was something he hadn't seen in a long time.

"The nurses did what they could, but I wouldn't eat out of my own free-will. They couldn't make me do anything that I didn't want to." That was when the Doctor remembered who he was talking to- another Time-Lord; an insane former-friend.

"No one can make you do anything you don't want to do, Master." the Doctor said, sadly. The fact was the painful truth. "And when they try, you'll do whatever it takes to prove them that you take orders from no one. You were even like that at the Academy. I'm surprised they never kicked you out." The Master shrugged.

"I was too smart for them to just kick me out. So were you. Now I'm sure that they all wished they'd kicked us out before we got TARDISes and destroyed everything they'd built up. Oh well." The Doctor bent down to pick up the tray, he looked at the Master's new clothes.

"Do you like them? I figured they were your size. Or something close." The Master looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

"Sure." he went back to the other side of the room and picked up his dirty clothes. "Since you seem to be the maid service here, you can take these and clean them." The Doctor accepted them and looked them over. They were torn, ragged, and smelled terribly of metal, dirt, and sweat. He looked at the Master's hair.

"Would you want to take a shower?" he asked. Without thinking, the Master nodded. He regretted acting so needy and resisted the urge to get angry. The Doctor was keeping the drums at bay. The Doctor was feeding him and taking care of him. He couldn't upset the Doctor in case he left him alone again. "Okay. Well, follow me." The Master waited, patiently, for the other Time-Lord to correct what he had said. "Please." the Doctor tacked on when he noticed that the Master wasn't going to take any orders. Everything had to seem like an offer rather than a demand. The two walked down the hallway for a minute. The Doctor opened the door. Inside the room there was a shower, a toilet, and a sink. "There are towels under the sink, I think. Please, please, please don't do something I'll regret." The Master bowed his head.

"I promise to behave myself." he said. The words came out without him thinking them. What was going on? Those words weren't his! The Doctor nodded and left him where he was. The thought of running to the control panel and landing the TARDIS somewhere crossed his mind, but he knew that the Doctor wasn't that stupid. Obviously he would have put some sort of lock on the controls to keep any hi-jacking from occurring. The Master closed and locked the door behind him. He looked in the mirror and was a little taken aback. His features were so sharp. His skin was stretched tightly across his bones, making him look very similar to a skeleton. He took his clean shirt off and looked at the white etchings all over him. The bones were still protruding out from his skin there as well. As he undressed, he noticed that his hipbones looked just as bad. With a sigh, he tossed his clothes on the counter and turned the water on in the shower. He left it on the cold side and stepped in after finding a towel under the sink cabinets. He stepped under the slow water flow and wondered why this TARDIS had such terrible water-pressure. After a few minutes under the cold, dripping water he took the bar of soap to his hair. He rubbed it in. Red water swirled at his feet as the caked blood came out. He dragged the bar of soap across his arms and chest. Soon, he was clean for the first time in what felt like, and very well might have been, years. He turned the water off and stepped out. He dried himself off and put the clothes back on. He looked at his blonde hair in the mirror. It looked less red, now, but his flushed skin just made his emaciation look even worse. He looked away from the mirror and opened the door. The Doctor was leaning against the wall across the hall. He looked at the Master.

"You look better." he offered as a compliment. The Master nodded.

"At least I'm not covered in… dirt anymore." He was planning on saying 'blood', but the Doctor wouldn't want to hear that. The Doctor nodded.

"You seem… different right now. Is everything okay?" The question was worded so carefully that the Master almost felt the need to laugh at the Doctor's way of beating around the bush.

"I don't know what the nurses told you, but there are times when the drums are better. Right now, they're quiet… er." The Doctor nodded, accepting that answer. He stepped away from the wall.

"Is there anything you want to do today?" The Master shook his head. With that, the Doctor started to walk back to the Master's room.

"I have a question. "The Master raised his hand like he was back in primary school. The Doctor nodded to him. "Do I have to stay in this room all day and all night? Can I at least walk around the TARDIS?" The Doctor bit his lip and shut the door behind them. "Well?" he asked, adding pressure.

"Okay. Maybe. But I'm going to set some ground rules." The Doctor walked over to the mattress and began fixing the blankets. The Master resisted the strong urge to walk over, sprawl all over the tidied blankets, and mess them up.

"Such as…?" he asked, demandingly.

"Number one, you do not touch the control panel or go anywhere near the control room without a legitimate reason." The Master grudgingly nodded. "Two, you will eat three square meals a day without me having to beg you every time." Another grudging nod. "And three, you will not intentionally hurt yourself." The last one got no response, but the Doctor knew why. It didn't seem like something the Master could control; it seemed to be impulsive. The Master would never admit that there wasn't something he could control…

"Fine. Can I walk around the TARDIS now?" The Doctor pretended to think about it for a moment.

"I suppose so… But only after you swear on something important. Otherwise you have to reason to listen to me and uphold your promise." The Master scowled and looked around. He couldn't swear by his honour, because he had none left. He couldn't swear on his own grave or that of anyone else's because the Doctor wouldn't accept that….

"I swear on the drums that I won't break any of the conditions." With that, the Doctor nodded.

"I want to see you in two or three hours to make sure that you eat enough. And if you need anything, just find me. I'll be… somewhere on the TARDIS doing…. something." The Master was used to the Doctor's vague, hare-brained comments. He had been like that since they were children on Gallifrey. The Master walked past him, trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with his freedom. He got out of sight of the Doctor when the drums started again. Their never ending roll was returning, louder, louder. He snarled to himself. He collapsed to his knees and held his head in his hands. He couldn't do it. He couldn't.

"Doctor!" he yelled, knowing the Doctor would hear him and come running. Within seconds, he heard the Doctor's footsteps. He looked up to see the younger Time-Lord.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. No! No! It's not! The Master wanted to scream. Instead, he backtracked.

"Of course. I think I should shadow you for a while in case I get lost in the TARDIS or something. That way I'll know my way around a little." The Master knew that the Doctor knew the real reason, but neither of them was going to mention it. The Doctor nodded, slowly.

"I think that I should follow you. I've been around this TARDIS enough. You can just go wherever you want. I'll be right here, behind you." For some reason that the Master couldn't describe, those words were soothing. He nodded sharply.

"Where's the library?" he asked. The Doctor pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"It's actually very close to your room. Nearly right across from it." The Doctor stopped walking for a minute and looked around. "And don't say it, Master. I'm not lost." The Master scoffed and waited for the Doctor to remember where he was going and where he was. "Right! Library!" he said and walked onward. The Master shook his head laughingly. "Don't say anything." the Doctor added, quietly.

"I wasn't saying anything." the Master retorted. He was so glad the drums were quiet… So glad… The Doctor stopped at the door that led to the library. He opened it and held the door for the Master, who walked in. He looked around at the piles and piled of books around him. They were in so many different languages. He didn't know where to start. He began to browse through them, looking for something of any interest to him. The Doctor silently followed him, trying to make sure that he didn't have to hear the drums again. He knew they were real, now, and they were torturing him. They had already driven him insane. The Doctor didn't want to see that again. And in a way, he caused it, so he felt responsible for keeping the Master safe from everything. Including himself.

"Put that book back." the Doctor said, noticing what the other Time-Lord was perusing.

"Why?" he asked, more intrigued than he was before. He scanned the title. Nothing seemed to make it any different from a normal book. He flipped through the pages until he caught the sight of familiar handwriting. "Journal of Impossible Things, Doctor? Really? You're writing your life as fiction?" The Master's smug, humoured look made the Doctor blush. He grabbed the book quickly.

"I used a fob watch when the Family of Blood was trying to track me. My human-self seemed to think that it would be a brilliant idea to write down his strange, futuristic dreams in a journal. He really did like it as fiction. And you don't need to be reading about it. It's personal." The Master rolled his eyes as the Doctor put it back carefully.

"You always get yourself into the weirdest trouble…" he commented and picked up another book. This one was in Gallifreyan. He raised his eyebrows and scanned through it. "You keep a Gallifreyan children's book about the Toclafane in here?" The Doctor nodded his head. Both of them were trying to forget the Master's 'invention' of the Toclafane on Earth. The Master shoved it back roughly and pretended that nothing had happened.

"Anything in particular that you want to read?" The Master shook his head. He noticed that he was hungry again. He held back his pride and stood up.

"Doctor, I'd like something to eat." He was so polite that the Doctor nearly had a hearts-attack. In shock, he nodded.

"Sure. Just, ah, let me…" he shook his head as if to clear it. The Master rolled his eyes.

"Just get me food." he said, shortly. The Doctor nodded. He walked out of the library, not noticing that the Master had grabbed both the Gallifreyan children's book and the Journal of Impossible Things. He followed the Doctor, trying to figure out what to do with the books. He set them beside the door to the library and went with the Doctor back to the kitchen.

"I've got… more bananas." the Doctor offered, cheerfully. The Master scowled.

"Do you have pears? They taste better than bananas." The Doctor shook his head and held his tongue. He hated pears and that was that. There would be no pears on his TARDIS any time soon. "Fine." he grumbled and held out a hand. The Doctor peeled the banana and handed it to the Master.

"Don't eat it too fast." he warned. "Your stomach's not quite used to all this food." The Master heard the warning, but didn't quite process it. He was starving. It was eerily familiar to when his resurrection had gone awry and all he could think about was food… "Master…" he said, warningly. The Master chewed and looked up.

"Yeah." he asked, his mouth full.

"You ate that in less than thirty seconds." he said.

"Yeah and…?" he asked, holding out the banana peel.

"If you get sick, it's not my fault." the Doctor said, taking the peel. He walked over to a garbage can and threw it away. "So, Master, I think that we need to set up a plan for your recovery." The Master raised an eyebrow. "Maybe, something like I feed you a relatively balanced meal and then you exercise for an hour. And then I feed you a snack…" The Master frowned.

"Quit acting like this is a rehab. I don't need help. I can be perfectly fine on my own." The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, you can be perfectly fine on your own. But I can still help. And I want to. Now… There's a pool here and I think that you need to get some real exercise." The Master thought about that carefully. He hadn't done anything more than walk about a thousand steps since he was taken to the sanctuary. He hadn't run or even walked quickly. The idea of real exercise was… intriguing.

"Am I going to have to swim in these?" he asked. The Doctor smiled and shook his head.

"I've got a closet you can look through. I'm sure there's something in there that you can wear." The Master nodded. The Doctor walked out of the room. He looked back at the other Time-Lord. The Master was staring at the floor beneath his feet as he walked. The Doctor was going to ask him what he was thinking, but he knew that he probably didn't want to know. They reached the closet. The Master looked down the rows and rows of clothing, his eyebrows raised. He looked at the rows of Converse lityhering the ground and then looked at the Doctor.

"You really like those shoes, don't you?" The Doctor nodded and walked to the side. He pulled out a pair of swim-trunks. They were a bright green.

"These?" he asked. The Master walked over and rolled his eyes. "I'll take that as a no." he said, stepping away from the pile. The Master picked up a pair of brown ones. He nodded to himself and walked away. The Doctor trailed him quietly. The Master walked into the nearest room and changed. The Doctor waited patiently until the door opened again.

"Are you going to change?" the Master asked. The Doctor shook his head.

"No. This'll be time for you to just swim around. I don't really feel like getting wet anyway. I much prefer running, like we did when we were kids, to getting sopping wet." The Master frowned. Swimming alone was uninteresting. He would have to figure out a way to get the Doctor to join him, later. The Doctor walked further into the back of the TARDIS. He took a left turn and, in front of him, was a pool. The Master briefly had a longing for his TARDIS, but it passed. The Doctor sat on a chair near the pool and motioned towards the water. "Just go ahead." he offered. The Master checked the depth and dove in. He felt the cold water wash over his body. It felt good. He swam deeper, opening his eyes. They burned. He closed his eyes again and let himself float to the surface. He shook the water out of his eyes and looked over at the Doctor, who was examining a book that had apparently been left by the chair he was in.

"You can do some laps…" the Doctor offered, not looking up. The Master scowled.

"Doctor." he called. The Doctor looked up.

"Yes?" The Master thought of a plan.

"I need to tell you something." The younger Time-Lord stood up from his chair and waited. "It's a secret." the Master said, rolling his eyes. The Doctor stepped to the side of the pool and leaned down.

"Yes?" The Master tilted his head to the side.

"Swimming alone is boring." he said and grabbed the Doctor's ankles. He pulled him into the water roughly. The Doctor flopped in, feet first, his back hitting the side of the pool. The Master let go of his feet and brought his head above the water. The Doctor rose up, gasping for air. He treaded water and glared at the Master, who was smiling, rather pleased with himself.

"That hurt!" the Doctor said, indignantly. The Master shrugged.

"I asked nicely." he said, swimming to the other side of the pool, waiting for retribution.

"No, you did not." The Doctor said, scowling. He looked at his suit. And then at the Master. And then back at his suit. He managed to pry the jacket off and then the tie. He unbuttoned his shirt, still frowning. He set them carefully on the side of the pool. He continued to tread the water. "Was there a reason that you wanted me in the pool or may I get out now?" The Master shook his head.

"No. You cannot get out until I say so." He swam back over to the Doctor. He put his hands on the Doctor's shoulders and forced his head under the water. The Doctor flailed slightly at first, but then stopped struggling. After a moment of the Master enjoying the feel of being in complete and utter control, he let the Doctor come gasping back to the surface. His brown hair was flinging water around as he coughed and gasped. The Master watched, enjoying the look. The Doctor spluttered,

"Why?" The Master shrugged and swam around him like a shark.

"Because." The Doctor knew very well why. The Master had to always be in control, as his name implied. The Doctor thought back to his sudden change in behaviour. For a moment, he was well-behaved and submissive, the next he was enjoying trying to drown the only other Time-Lord in existence. The Doctor reached out a hand and set it on the Master's arm.

"Why?" he repeated, trying to get a straight answer.

"Do you want me to drown you for real this time?" he growled in return. "Because I will. Gladly." Something had changed again. His face was much darker and his eyes were in a permanent glare. The Doctor pulled his hand away and swam over to the ladder. He began to get out, but the Master grabbed his feet and pulled him back in. This time, the Doctor assumed what was going to happen before it actually did and narrowly managed to avoid hitting his head on the side of the pool. His arms did get scratched up, but it could have been worse. His back was still aching from the first time the Master had pulled him in. After he hit the water again, the Master grabbed his head and pushed it under again. He held it there, savouring the seconds. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. He held the Doctor under the water, laughing. The Doctor tried to gasp for a breath only to fill his lungs with water. He thrashed. He reached up and grabbed the Master's shoulder. He wrenched it to the side, allowing himself to come up to the surface. He coughed out the water and gasped in air. He shoved the Master against the side of the pool. The Master was still weak from all his time in captivity, and for that, the Doctor was thankful. As he regained his breath, he looked into the Master's dancing eyes.

"I have officially revoked your TARDIS-wandering freedoms." he said, trying to measure the Master's reaction. It was nearly non-existent.

"So I'm your pet now?" The Master asked. "Your little pet that you control every aspect of. When I get to go outside? When I sit and stay? You always did like torturing me. Leaving to me die. All alone. 1,2,3,4… 1,2,3,4." He lunged for the Doctor's throat. The Doctor, defensively grabbed the Master's shoulders. The Master pushed the Doctor under the water again. The Doctor was no longer tolerating it. He used his own weight to shove the Master under the water and lift himself up. He took a deep breath of air, keeping the Master under the water. When he realised what he was doing, he tore his hands away. The Master bobbed to the surface and coughed up the water. The Doctor hauled him to the side of the pool. He got out first and then grabbed the Master under his arms. He pulled him out of the water. Again, he was reminded about how weak the Master really was and how little he weighed. The Doctor, holding one of the Master's hands, brought him down the hallways to his room. The Master was silent, brooding, but too tired to do anything about it. The Doctor opened the door, shoved the Master inside, and then slammed it shut. He was breathing heavily when he locked the door and went to the room that he called his own. He took off the rest of his soaking clothes and found a blue, button-up shirt that he liked. He found more clothes to wear and put them on. He put his wet clothes over the back of a chair to dry. He took a deep breath and thought about what he had done. He had tried to drown the Master. Somewhere, deep inside of him, he knew that that wasn't true, that he was just trying to defend himself. Still, the thought of him forcing the Master to breathe in water haunted him. He ran a hand through his wet hair and opened the door to go back to the hallway. He closed it behind him. He walked to the kitchen and rummaged around for a minute until he found a bag of carrots and a protein bar. He walked to the Master's room and hesitated. He wasn't sure whether or not to knock. Or whether or not to go in at all. After a moment's deliberation, he opened the door and looked inside. The Master was in the corner of the room, not moving. The Doctor walked over and saw that he was sleeping. He set the food on the ground beside his feet and bent down. He carried the Master to the mattress. The Master was shivering. The Doctor noticed and pulled the blankets around him. He also put the carrots and the bar beside the right side of the bed.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I didn't mean to." The Master didn't reply. He rolled over onto his other shoulder, still asleep. He muttered something and shook his head a little. The Doctor knelt down and put a hand on the Master's head. He wondered what was going on in the Master's mind. Gently, he placed his hands on either side of the Master's face and pressed their foreheads together.

_There was fire burning through the TARDIS. Everything was on fire. The Master was banging on the door that the Doctor had locked. "Open it!" he yelled, knowing that no one was there. "Open the door, damn you!" There was still only the sound of flames crackling as they engulfed everything they could find to engulf. Soon, the door itself was beginning to be eaten at. The Master stepped away, trying to figure a way out. The Doctor had left him again. It was just like before, on Gallifrey. He was left alone. With that thought, he went back over to the door. He kicked it down and flames licked towards him. He stumbled back. For some reason, even though the flames burnt him, he was cold. He was looked at the wall of fire ahead of him and at the room behind him. He bolted forward into the fire, every inch of his skin burning. He ran down to where he knew that the control room was. _

_"Master!" a faint voice called. The Master whipped around to see who it was. He knew the voice well, so well. It was the Doctor. He sounded desperate. The Master began to run back down the hallway, avoiding the flames as best as he could to reach the Doctor. He looked around to see an open door. He looked in. The Doctor was on the floor. _

_"What happened?" the Master asked, bending down beside the other Time-Lord._

_"He came in here… Burned her." The Doctor was breathing heavily. The Master looked down to see that blood was pouring from the Doctor's stomach from a small hole. _

_"Doctor! Regenerate!" The Doctor shook his head._

_"Can't. It's blocked, somehow. Never thought…" he trailed off as he pulled his hand away from his stomach. Blood was dripping down his hand onto the floor. The Master dropped to his knees and put a hand on the Doctor's wound. He had lost so much blood. _

_"Try again!" he called. The Doctor gave the Master a sad smile. _

_"I can't. I'm going to die." The Master shook his head vehemently. _

_"No! No!" The Doctor put his bloodied hand on the Master's cheek. _

_"I'm sorry. I did this to you." The Master shook his head still, accidently causing the Doctor's hand to fall limply to the ground. He laid the Doctor's back gently on the floor and tried to stop the bleeding with his hand._

_"Don't say that. You can't die! We're the last two left. If you die now, I'll be the only one." The Doctor gave a faint smile, but then grimaced as the Master pushed harder on the gun-shot wound. _

_"And then you can rule the universe, just like you always wanted. At least you'll be happy." The Master shook his head and pushed harder._

_"No! No! No! No!" It was obvious that the Doctor was fading. He was turning a blue-ish colour as his hearts pumped all of their blood out onto the floor. "Don't leave me alone!"_

_"It will be all right, Master. You'll see." He was dying. He was going to die. The thought hit the Master._

_"Who did this to you?" he growled, the plans for torture beginning to flit through his mind. He would make the murderer pay for years and years. He would avenge the Doctor._

_"You did." _

The Doctor ripped his head off of the Master's. That dream was horrible. Was that how the older Time-Lord really felt about himself? Having a dream like that meant that he must have been feeling like a monster. The Doctor closed his eyes and rubbed his hand in the Master's hair. They had been friends once, when they were younger. Now they were trying to kill each other and both thought they were monsters who deserved to die. The Doctor pulled his hand away and stood up. He walked over to the door and opened it. Before walking out, he looked over his shoulder at the Master, who was still in the deep sleep, most likely dreaming about the still-dying Doctor in his arms. He shook his head and closed the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Doors to the Soul and the Gates of Saint Peter

_Finally, the start of something plot-ish!_ **Here there be violence! **

The Master woke up, startled. It took a moment for him to orient himself. He felt the constant pressing of the drums against his skull. He pushed the blankets off of him, they were getting too hot. He looked down at himself and remembered why he was still wearing swim trunks. He felt a gnawing hunger driving deeply into his stomach. He rolled off to the mattress and looked around for the food the Doctor must have left him. Sure enough, he saw a bag of carrots and chocolate-covered protein bar. He greedily ate the carrots as fast as he could. Half-way through the bag, he remembered to eat slowly so he didn't get sick. He bit into one of the orange vegetables slowly, trying to distract himself from eating everything he could lay his hands upon. His dream… He couldn't quite remember what it was about. Something to do with fire. And guns. And regeneration. He didn't remember, but it didn't bother him. There were always going to be dreams and, most likely, they weren't going to matter anyway. He finished the bag and began to eat the bar. It was stale and warm, but he didn't mind. He was much too hungry to mind. He finished it and then licked the melted chocolate off of his fingers. He looked in the corner of the room. There was a basket with stuff in it. He walked over and looked at what it was. He pulled out the item on the top. It was a red t-shirt. Under that was another pair of jeans. At the bottom were the books that he had tried to smuggle out of the library. Beside them were some small towels, an apple, and some ointment. The Master pulled the shirt over his head and change into the rest of his clothes. He flung the swim trunks to the other side of the room, inconveniencing the Doctor being the first thing on his mind. He bit into the apple while taking out the book about the Toclafane. He walked back over to his bed and rested his back against the wall. He began to flip through the pages, trying not to get the apple's juices all over it. After a minute, all that was left was the core. He looked at it, debating whether or not to eat it. He set it beside the mattress after determining not to. He flipped to the next page, remembering when he was younger and had read a similar book, maybe even the same book, and scoffed at it. The door flung open and the Doctor stepped in. He did not look happy, but he didn't look mad, either.

"Hello, Doctor." the Master said, shutting the book dramatically and tossing it to the side. The Doctor nodded.

"Master. We're going to spend some time together." He shut the door behind him. The Master raised an eyebrow.

"If we're going to do one of your stupid human games, I'm more than not interested. And if it's something stupid in general, I don't want to waste my time or my energy." The Doctor shook his head and walked over to the mattress. He sat down on it. The Master bit back a remark about not inviting the Doctor to sit down until he remembered who really owned the TARDIS and everything inside of it.

"I want to figure something out." the Doctor said, simply, patting the area in front of him. The Master remained where he was. "Don't sit in front of me." the Doctor commanded tiredly. The Master knew that the Doctor was giving him no choice other than to sit down. Because he wouldn't want to obey an order from the Doctor, so he would do the opposite. The Master scowled and sat down in front of the Doctor.

"What do you want to figure out? What the drums are? What I really think of you?" He sneered.

"No. I want to figure out what you think of yourself." The Master was slightly taken aback by the idea that the Doctor had brought up, but he tried to hide it. He rolled his eyes.

"You're a silly, sentimental old man. I am the most amazing thing that the universe has ever seen and it should bow down to me and accept my complete dominance." The Doctor nodded.

"And that would be what you seem to think, isn't it? But that's different than how you feel about yourself, right?" The Doctor lay down on the pillows, still watching the other Time-Lord. The Master snarled.

"What are you talking about?" But as he looked at the Doctor longer, brief memories of his dreams flashed back to him. He scowled at the Doctor.

"Master, I saw your dream. You can't keep saying that you're perfectly fine with yourself when you dream of me calling you a monster… and you agreeing with it." The Master rolled his eyes.

"You were the one dreaming if you think that I'd ever think of myself as anything lower than a god." The Doctor held out a stick of celery.

"I bet this piece of celery that you're lying." he said. The Master held his hand out.

"Then give it to me, old man." The Doctor pulled it away.

"You're the oldest one here." the Doctor reminded him. "And to figure this out, I'm going to look inside your mind." The Master moved backwards.

"If you think that I'm going to let you anywhere near my brain, you are sorely wrong." The Doctor waved the celery stick. "And especially not for some lousy vegetable." The Master waited for a response.

"So you know that I'm right. That's a start." He handed the celery to the Master who quickly inhaled it. "If you don't want to be a monster, then why do you keep acting like one?"

"It's not me." the Master said, softly. "It's the drums. I can't help it when they control me. There's nothing I can do." The Doctor was shocked by this admission, but made it a goal not to display it. They both sat in silence for a moment. The Doctor was staring at the Master who was, in turn, staring at his own feet.

"Thank you." the younger Time-Lord finally said. The blonde-haired man jerked his head up.

"For what?" he asked, a little too sharply.

"Now I know that, sometimes at least, you still can think like a normal person; that you do have feelings." The Doctor leaned forward slightly and pulled the Master into an awkward hug. He broke away after a moment, checking the look on the Master's face.

"It's just that… Sometimes… I lose myself. There's nothing there sometimes, only the drums." The Doctor brought a hand to the Master's face.

"Koschei…" he whispered. The Master's eyes snapped to a glare and his expression tightened.

"Who are you talking to? That's not my name. My name is the Master!" he proclaimed loudly, grabbing the Doctor's hand by the wrist and squeezing it until the Doctor struggled.

"Let go." he said, trying to pull away.

"Say my name. Beg me to let go." He held the Doctor's wrist tighter, making him squirm from the pain.

"Master! Master!" he cried. The Master only laughed. He pulled the Doctor forward by the hand in his grasp and grabbed a handful of the Doctor's hair. He pulled at the fistful of hair. "Master!" he yelled again. It only made the Master laugh harder.

"I said to beg, my Doctor. Beg like you've never begged before." The Doctor felt the tears springing to his eyes as the pain became overwhelming.

"It's just the drums talking! Koschei! You can stop this!" The Master snarled and leapt forward, keeping his hold on the Doctor's hand and hair, knocking both of them off of the mattress. The Doctor's head hit the floor violently.

"Beg for me to stop!" he yelled. He yanked on the Doctor's hair and then moved his hand to the Doctor's throat. The Doctor tried to stop him with his free hand.

"Koschei!" he cried. The Master gave a sadistic smile and leaned over the Doctor. "I know you're in there! Stop him! Stop him if you ever loved me!" The Master froze. There was a tense moment where no one moved. The Doctor waited. The Master laughed, louder than before.

"As if that would actually work!" he cried, delighted at the disappointment on the Doctor's face. He put weight on the younger Time-Lord's neck. "Now. Beg." Knowing that there was no other way out at that point, the younger Time-Lord gave in.

"Master, I'm sorry." he said, beginning to gasp for air as the Master added more pressure to his throat. "Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry. Please stop." he spluttered. The Master hardly heard the words. The look of concentration on his face said it all. The Doctor recognised the look of blood-lust when he saw it. "Please, please, please!" he begged, in Gallifreyan. That caught the Master's attention. He pulled his hand off of the Doctor's neck and wrist. There were two angry red marks where his hands had been. The Doctor rolled out from under the Master and stood up. The Master moved back to the bed, slowly, looking at his hands. The Doctor walked to the door and glanced back at his friend, who was sitting completely still, staring at his hands. He then put his head in his hands and remained unmoving. The younger Time-Lord stopped walking away. He went back to where he had been and sat beside his friend.

"Doctor, what am I?" he asked softly, into his hand.

"I don't know." he replied honestly. He gently pulled the Master's hands away from his face and stared him in the eyes. "But that wasn't you. I know you. I knew you. This is not who you are. Don't let the drums control you." The Master let his hands fall to his sides.

"You're so much stronger than I am. You could hold them at bay." There was a time once when the Master could hold them at bay, a time when they were young children, when the Doctor had been there for him. He would talk about how he heard the drums. Then the Doctor left to travel. When he came back, the Master was a completely different person. He was crueller, more ruthless, and much more insane. It seemed to only have gotten worse over time. He still blamed himself for the Master's insanity. Maybe if he had been there for him, this wouldn't have happened.

"No, Master. You're just as strong, if not stronger, than I am. I could never have fought the drums as long as you have. I would have given in by now and just let them devour me. You haven't done that. You are the bravest man I know." The Master lowered his gaze and turned his head away.

"The trigger… what the drums hate so much… is our childhood. On Gallifrey." he admitted to the ground. The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. He remembered that, every time he called the Master by his original name, it set him off. And the time at the pool, he had mentioned their childhood. He took a deep breath.

"But why?" It was silly question. He knew why.

"Because when you left, they took over. That's why." The Doctor sat, staring at the Master for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to say or do. There didn't seem to be much of an option for what to say.

"I'm sorry. I really, truly am." The Master nodded. He was looking at his arms and the scars that criss-crossed them. The Doctor took hold of his wrists gingerly and looked at the scars as well. He stood up and walked to the room where the basket of things for the Master was; the Master watching him move across the room carefully. The younger Time-Lord pulled out the ointment and unscrewed it. He sat back beside the Master.

"What are you doing?" the Master asked, softly. The Doctor put some of the ointment on his hand and grabbed the Master's right wrist. He began rubbing the clear, jelly-like material on the scars and cuts that covered him.

"I'm fixing you. My name is the Doctor, isn't it?" He finished and went to the Master's other arm. The Master watched him, remembering how he gave himself each scar. "This ointment can heal your cuts faster." He moved up to the Master's neck and rubbed some there. "Do you want me to get your back?" The Master raised an eyebrow, his expression changing again. The Doctor braced himself for more violence.

"I think that you want to get my back more than I want you to." he said and pulled his shirt over his head. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You're talking nonsense. When you actually have something important to say, please tell me what it is." The Master chuckled as the Doctor put some of the ointment on his back. He rubbed it in cautiously.

"You used to say that you loved me when we were kids. Remember all those years ago? You said that you couldn't live without me. Apparently you could." He sounded jovial until he reached the last sentence. His face twisted into hatred.

"I never meant for this to happen." the Doctor said, inaudibly. The Master sat still until the Doctor was done. The younger Time-Lord put the cap back on the medicine and stood up. He walked to the basket and put it back. The Master pulled his shirt back on, ignoring the pain resonating from the newer scratches on his back. The Doctor began to head over to the door.

"Don't go." he ordered. The Doctor looked at the older Time-Lord, trying to figure out what to do or say. He desperately wanted his friend back, the boy who had helped him through the years of the Academy, but this monster seemed to dissolve any trust he put into the Master. The moment he would begin to pity or want to help the Master, the drums would take over and do something violent.

"I have to work on the TARDIS. I'll be back soon." he promised. He left, trying to think of what to do next. He couldn't just take the drums away, that was impossible, but he wondered what he could do to at least make the Master more like he had been when they were kids. He walked to the control panel and stared at the buttons in front of him. He wanted to travel desperately, but it wasn't as though he could bring the Master with him. After a moment of hesitation, he set the controls to random again and decided to let the TARDIS choose where she wanted to go. The engines started and then stopped only a few seconds later. Curious as to where he was, he opened the doors of his TARDIS. Outside were a series of houses and buildings set on the dry landscape. There didn't seem to be any movement coming from them. Intrigued, he stepped out and began to walk toward the building. The air was fine, a little lacking in oxygen, but nothing that would kill him, or even make him light-headed. There didn't seem to be any life anywhere around him. The Doctor approached the first building. "Hello?" he called, loudly, trying to locate someone to talk to. "Is there anyone here?" There was no response other than dead silence. There was a vague sound, like the flapping of wings. The wind whistled through the area gently. The Doctor walked into the nearest house. "Hello?" Around him, chairs were flipped over and a table was near the entrance, as though it had been used as a barricade once, but had been pushed aside by the door being forced open. The lighting in the room changed. The Doctor peered out a window to see that a series of dark clouds were covering the sun. He didn't believe in omens, but if he had, the clouds might have been considered a warning of some sort. The Doctor walked down a small hallway. He knocked on the first door. There was no response. He opened it and looked around. "Hello?" he asked, once again. Again, no one replied. He walked around, wondering what had happened and what species had lived here. What year was he even in?

There was a door that looked suspicious to the Doctor, in the back corner of the room. Something seemed odd about it. Maybe it was the fact that it was the only door in the house that wasn't ajar in some way or another. Or maybe it was the way everything was so much messier in front of it. He walked over to it slowly. He heard the door closing slowly behind him, pushed by the wind, and looked over his shoulder. On the back of the door there was a cross. A badly, hastily made cross. It looked like it was a reddish-brown, the colour of dried blood, but the light was making it hard to distinguish colours. The Doctor turned his attention back to the door at the back of the room. He knocked on it softly and then pulled the knob quietly. He felt the door being pulled back, from the inside.

"It's okay! I'm the Doctor! I'm here to help." The pressure from the opposite side of the door lessened. "I promise." He listened carefully to hear whispers.

"They don't talk…" one said, it sounded like a young boy. There was more undecipherable conference before the Doctor stepped away from the handle and looked back at the door from which he entered the room. It was still hanging on its hinges and creaking back and forth. Something about the cross was strangely familiar. Some connection that he was missing. The small door opened and a young boy of maybe thirteen walked out. He had jet-black hair and a stern look on his face. Behind him was a younger boy who had blonde hair. His eyes were darting around nervously and his face was streaked with blood. And last out was a woman. She had her hands tied behind her back. Her short, dark hair was held out of her face by a strip of cloth, and the hair framed empty, scarred sockets where her eyes used to be.

"If you're with them, we will kill you right now." The older boy said, aiming a gun at the Doctor who reflexively held his empty hands into the air.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Any of you." The woman brought her head up and down slowly. The two boys looked at each other.

"Where are you from?" the older boy asked. "Why are you here?" The younger boy moved to his side, still looking frightened.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm from the planet of Gallifrey, a Time-Lord. I'm here because I think it would be a nice place to land my ship." The older boy's eyes lit up with hope. He glanced to the blonde and then back at the Doctor.

"You have a ship?" he asked excitedly. "Come on!" he said, running past the Doctor. "We have to go. Right now. Before anyone else gets taken." The Doctor grabbed the hem of the older boy's shirt as he was running by.

"What exactly are we running from?" he asked. The black-haired boy snarled and pulled away from the Doctor's grasp.

"Them! Where have you been?" he demanded. "They took everyone! Tei and I barely got out." he said, motioning to the shorter blonde to his left. The Doctor pointed at the sightless woman behind both of them.

"And who is she?" The older boy blew the question off, but the blonde looked at her and then back to the Doctor.

"That's his father's slave." At that, the Doctor's face twisted into a frown. "We were running to hide. When Koeren saw her, he pulled her into the closet with us. They didn't seem to know we were there." He spoke meekly, as though he were afraid of something.

"She's just an Engelin. She doesn't matter. We need to get out of here before they find us. Where's your ship?" The sound of fluttering wings wafted through the house and the three natives all tensed up. The boys stood back to back and the woman muttered something.

"What did she say?" the Doctor asked, looking at the terror and comprehension on the woman's face. She repeated it again and held her fingers like a cross on her forehead.

"Who knows? She's speaking Engelin. No one understands her here." The Doctor walked closer to her as the boys continued to stare at the entrance to the room.

"I might. What are you saying?" he asked. She muttered it again, but he still couldn't understand it. "What's her name?" he asked to the blonde-haired boy.

"She calls herself Eashi, I think." The Doctor whipped around to face her. He put his hands on her shoulders.

"Eashi, I need you to speak up. What are you saying?" he asked, translating the best he could to her. The TARDIS could translate other languages for him, but that didn't mean that others could understand his English or his Gallifreyan automatically.

"Iiassia. Iiassia i Queiri Engeles."* His eyes widened in horror. He looked around desperately for a way out of the room.

"We have to go!" he yelled, running for the door. The woman stood in the middle of the room, cocking her head toward the window at the back of the room.

"Engeles… Nuit Fahire."() she muttered. The Doctor pulled them out of the room only to come face-to-face with a terrible statue that he recognised all too well.

"No one blink!" he cried, desperately.

*Beware. Beware the Weeping Angels.

()Angels… Don't blink.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Heaven's Tears

**Includes violence! Be forewarned!**

The Master flipped through the book about the Toclafane once more before he stood up. The Doctor was taking too long. According to his counting, the drums had pulsed their ever-playing beat approximately ten thousand times since the Doctor had left. That meant that he'd been gone three hours. And the Doctor hadn't left him alone that long since he came aboard the TARDIS. The Master tossed the book into the basket where he had gotten it. He stood up and walked over to the door. He was getting tired of waiting. And he was hungry… Again. At least this wasn't a driving, starving, gnawing hunger. It was just the basic, everyday craving for food. The Master twisted the door handle to the side and was surprised to find that it hadn't been locked. With a smug smile at the Doctor's mindlessness, he walked to the kitchen. He pulled out a loaf of bread from a cupboard and found a jar of peanut butter next to it. He searched around a minute for a knife. He eventually found a whole drawer of silverware. He took out a knife and walked back over to the bread. He spread the peanut butter over it and threw the knife into the sink. He took a bite of his piece of bread, leaning against the counter. Something felt wrong. Something in the back of his mind felt blurry. He shrugged it off until he finished the bread. Then the thought began to root in him that something could be seriously wrong. He walked to the library, but didn't see the Doctor. He went to the Doctor's room and knocked. There was no response. When he opened the door and looked inside, there was no one there. "Without a good reason…?" he wondered to himself, remembering the rules the Doctor had laid down. A part of him told that the rules didn't matter anymore because, A) he was the Master and no rules could ever apply to him, and B) even if they did apply for some stupid, unexplainable reason, the Doctor had already taken away the privilege of roaming the TARDIS, so he didn't have to keep his word. Another part of him desperately wanted to please the Doctor, but it was squashed by the drums as soon as it spoke up. With only a moment more of internal angst, the Master walked boldly into the control room.

"Hello, old girl!" he said, tauntingly, trying to see if he could get a rise out of her. When nothing happened he scowled. "Stupid machine." he grumbled. "I don't know why the Doctor doesn't just disassemble you." The floor beneath his feet rocked a little. The Master knew laughter when he felt it below him. "Stupid machine." he muttered again. He looked at the closed doors and then at the control panel. "Where's the Doctor gone off to?" he demanded. The TARDIS didn't respond. "I'll take out your heart!" he threatened. No response. He sneered and leaned against the wall, feeling the blurry part of his mind growing. "Come on. Don't be a pain. The Doctor's not here is he?"

_Positive_. the TARDIS responded.

"So he's outside, then?" he asked.

_Positive_. the TARDIS repeated. The Master rolled his eyes and walked to the door.

"Thanks." he said, sarcastically.

_Don't give them the key_. the TARDIS warned before he walked out. The Master didn't care to try to figure out what she meant by that. He was much more interested in what was taking the Doctor so long to work out. Not much slowed the Doctor down. He looked around. There were hills rolling to his right. To his left, on the lower part of the hill, were very still houses. That was obviously what attracted the Doctor in the first place. He shoved his hands in the pocket, surprised to find the TARDIS key in the pockets. How had that gotten there? He shoved the key into the lock and made sure the TARDIS was locked. The strange sensation in the back of his mind was still there, refusing to fade. He walked down the hill, watching the houses. The closer he got, the more he realised that something was seriously, seriously wrong. He debated going back to the TARDIS and grabbing a weapon, but the chance of their being a weapon on board the TARDIS was slim to none. And the chance of him finding it among all the junk the Doctor had collected was even slimmer. He walked down the rows of houses, wondering which was the one the Doctor had last been in.

"Doctor?" he called, knowing perfectly well that no one would say anything back to him. He fiddled with the TARDIS key and looked at the sky. It was menacingly dark. He scowled. "If it rains on me, you owe me big time." he muttered to the Doctor, who was still nowhere to be found. As he walked through the small town, he felt compelled to go back to the first house he saw. He walked back and opened the door. A table was pushed away to side like it had been used as a barricade at some point, but was moved when the door went flying open. Something about this was strange, for sure. The Master walked down the hallway. There was one door that was wide open. He looked in to see a small door in the back was moving back and forth on its hinges. The window by it was broken. The wind coming in made papers on the floor flutter. Something on the floor glinted. The Master walked over and knelt down. On the floor, among the broken glass that was crunching under his feet, there was a small piece of metal. It shaped a small Gallifreyan symbol. It meant 'holy.' The Master knew that it wasn't the Doctor's, but there were very few beings left in the universe that knew the dead language… Who had done this? Had someone set this up?

He walked out of the room, clutching the symbol in his hand. He walked to the back of the house and down a flight of stairs. There was a small door that led downward. He opened it and looked inside. In the corner of the room there was a small pile of blankets that looked like they sufficed as a bed at some point. There was a small trunk. He walked over to it. He jolted the lid slightly. It didn't budge. With a scowl he stood back. He kicked the side of the wooden chest. It groaned under the pressure. He kicked it again with the heel of his boots. This time the wood gave way with a small crack. One final kick broke a spot in. In the dim light, the Master tried to figure out what was in it. He put a hand in and felt around .There was a tangle of cords. He pulled them out and sat them beside him. He reached in again. This time, he hit something hard and rough. He pulled it out. It was a small, roughly made statue. It was about eleven centimetres tall. It was covering its eyes and in a language that looked familiar to the Time-Lord it read, _do not blink_. There were wings protruding from the back of the statue. The Master dropped it roughly and looked at the cords. From them were more words from the same language. One read, _first born_, the other read, _marked one_, the third read, _weep_.

The Master jumped to his feet and stuffed the cords in his pocket. He dusted off the angel that he dropped on the floor. He set it carefully back on the chest. He ran up the stairs and through the building as fast as he could. He got into the open and looked around. There were no real-sized statues.

"Thank Rassalon." he muttered, but knew this wasn't finished. He looked around for a place where the Lonely Assassins might be. He noted a large church down at the end of the road. He knew the Lonely Assassins well. As he rushed toward the large church, he pulled out the cords and looked at the language. Where was it from? Then, as he looked closer, he remembered. It was Engelin. He took a deep breath.

"What idiot pissed off an Engelin?" he demanded to himself, suddenly understanding all the signs that he had been given. Someone must have upset an Engelin, which was why the Lonely Assassins were causing chaos. He got to the church and noticed a large piece of cloth piled around the church. Out from under it was an arm. And a piece of familiar cloth showed. The Master walked over to the cloth and pulled it away. Below it were hundreds of dead bodies. All of them were dismembered and the smell of rot hit the Master's nose. He took a step back, but looked at the cloth near the bottom. It was from the suit the Doctor had been wearing earlier. His eyes widened as he realized what was blurring in the back of his mind. Long ago, when they were children, the Doctor, then called Theta, and the Master, then called Koschei, forged links in each other's minds. That link was now disconnected. Because he was dead. He pulled the jacket out and smelled Time-Lord blood on it. A lot of Time-Lord blood. He began to push through the corpses, trying to find the Doctor. Surely he was here. The Master threw aside the body of a small child and found the Doctor's tie. He sat back roughly. He gripped the tie and the cords in his hand tightly. He didn't want to let go. He sat there for a moment, listening to the drums and trying to cool the thoughts going through his mind. The Doctor couldn't be dead. He never could die. The Master stood up, silently and brushed himself off. He walked to the entrance to the church and pushed the double-doors opened as widely as he could.

"Help!" a small voice called from far away. The Master saw approximately thirty statues scattered around the room.

"Congratulations. You've pissed me off." he said, loudly. He blinked intentionally. The statues were now much closer than they were before, but they were still covering their eyes. "Do you want to know what's worse than pissing off an Engelin? Pissing off one of the only two Time-Lords left in existence. And you didn't choose the pacifist. You chose the insane one." He began to tap his foot to a beat of four. A common, common beat that was always haunting his thoughts. "So… Tell me where the pacifist is and I won't have to kill you all." There was silence. He was, of course, talking to statues. He closed his eyes. There was the sound of laughter. It was hauntingly light and cheerful, yet at the same time, it struck terror into his heart. There were some beings in the universe you didn't try to threaten. The Master opened his eyes. "I've been laughed at enough today!" the Master yelled. "So playtime's over." He walked over to the nearest statue. "Not many people know how to kill a statue…" he said, looking contemplative. "But I am the Master. I know a lot of things… How to reprogram a TARDIS, how to rule the universe, how to get whatever I want, and…" he ran a finger down the angel's arm, "how to kill a stone." He smiled and picked up a large chip of rock that looked like it had fallen from the ceiling. He hefted it and jammed it into the statue's neck.

As soon as it collided with the other stone, he closed his eyes. He opened them again to see the angel lying on the ground, a hole in its neck where its throat should have been. He held the rock up. "I can do this all day." he said, a sardonic smile etching its way into his features. He took a close look at the statues. He walked over to the next one. "Give me my Doctor back!" he demanded and stabbed it in the eye. He closed his eyes and did it again. He took a step back to see the angry angels around him. He turned back to the one whose eyes he had removed. He jammed it into where the brain would be though the eye sockets. He blinked and then looked back. It had fallen to the ground. And the Lonely Assassins around him moved back. "I am your lord and master!" he cried, loudly. He walked to the next one and stabbed its throat. And the next one. The group was retreating. "I guess you're a little sorry that you got the pacifist." he whispered to the next one. "I think that you want to live, yes? Point me to where the Doctor is; I know he's not dead, he can't die, and I'll let you all live." He took a few steps backward and blinked. All of the angels in the room were pointing down a hallway. He smiled and killed the two statues nearest to him. "That was for the inconvenience. I'll be taking my Doctor and going now. Goodbye." He started down the hallway, but then stopped. He turned around. "Oh yeah… I forgot to tell you. If any of you follow me, I will kill you." He continued onward, hearing the voices pleading for help down the hallway. "Doctor!" he called in a sing-song voice. "I'm looking for you. Marco- Polo?" he asked, remembering a stupid game the human children played. "Marco?" he yelled.

"Polo!" called a voice down the hallway. It was not the Doctor's but a young boy's. The Master scowled and walked to where it was coming from. He opened the door to see two boys huddled against a wall. In the corner was an unmoving Doctor. The Master walked over and checked for a pulse. When he found one, he sighed. He turned to the boys and sat down in front of them. He pulled the cords out of his pocket.

"Okay, pests, which of you owns these?" They both shook their heads. "Don't screw with me. Someone here owns them." They both shook their heads fervently.

"That would be me." a woman said from the entrance. The Master spun around. He looked at the woman's face and then at her arms. On them were marks of the Assassins. He gave a frustrated sigh. "My guardians told me that someone from the dead planet of Gallifrey came and murdered some of their comrades. Tell me, why?"

"So you're the Engelin." he said, holding out the charms. "These are yours. And that," he jerked his thumb over at the unconscious Time-Lord in the corner, "is mine. I'll trade you." She fumbled for the charms and brought her head in the direction of the Doctor. The Master walked over and shook his shoulders a little. The Doctor still didn't respond. The Master rolled his eyes and gently touched his lips to those of the other Time-Lord. The younger one bolted awake and looked around.

"Master!" he exclaimed. "You need to run! Run back to the TARDIS and go!" The Master stood up and rolled his eyes again.

"Too late for that." he muttered.

"Why? Because they've caught you, too?" The Master shook his head and walked towards the door and the Engelin.

"No. Because I already killed about eight of them." The Doctor, who had been working his way to his feet, stopped and stared. No one could kill a stone. They were just stone. "And don't look so impressed. It inflates my ego a little too much. Now come on. I've made a deal with them. We're leaving." The Doctor held a hand out to one of the boys, but the Engelin cleared her throat when she heard the noise.

"You cannot leave with them. They must receive their due justice." The Master nodded. He'd expected as much, looking at her empty eye sockets. No one did that to an Engelin and never faced retribution.

"Fine. We'll go now. Come on, Doctor." The Doctor didn't move.

"I'm not leaving these two here." he said, adamantly. The Master looked to the Engelin.

"Why are they going to be torn apart?" he asked, annoyed with how long everything was taking. She pointed to the place where her eyes had been.

"The Weeping Angels are our gods. They protect us from calamity. In return, we give them every first-born child. Sometimes, they spare a child to show their great mercy. I was spared and they became my protectors. Two years ago, I was taken and sold as a slave to the people of this planet. Not a month ago, I was accused of staring after another man in this town. The boy's father decreed that he would cut my eyes out to prevent an accident from ever occurring. And so he did. With quite a bit of joy, I must admit..."

_She backed up against the wall. "Iut! Iut!" she cried. No, no. The man approached her with the knife. _

_"The less you struggle, the less this will hurt," he promised. She shook her head and continued babbling in Engelin. She wanted to beg in the tongue she had learned in her two years of living on the new planet, but she didn't know enough to say much. She tried to find a way out, but he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her to the ground. "I'll make this quick." He held the knife above her head. _

_"Iut! Tot!" * Her begging was ignored. He bound her hands behind her back and put the knife above her left eye. _

_"Stop moving or this'll accidently go into your brain. Trust me, you don't want that." She understood what he was saying and tensed her body for the pain to come. She felt the blade dig into the soft membrane and screamed. She screamed and screamed and he cut her eyeball out. She felt the blood running down her jaw and into her mouth as she screamed and screamed. She couldn't take it any longer. _

_"Engeles! Engeles construe re i uiu es!" () she screamed. She had summoned her guardians. They would be with her soon. They would protect her. She then passed out from the pain and blood loss. _

"And the Weeping Angels will not stop until everyone involved is dead." The Doctor stared at her and then at the boys.

"But they're innocent!" he proclaimed. She shrugged. "Surely an arrangement can be reached." The Master began to tap his foot, impatiently. He didn't care about the lives of the two boys behind him. He was just glad that his Doctor was alive, and he wanted to get back to the TARDIS. His legs hurt from the exercise. He felt a little pathetic, but reminded himself that he had around five months of little or no physical activity before the Doctor had taken him out of the sanctuary of Rhi. The Engelin paused a moment and nodded. The Master assumed that the Lonely Assassins, or as she called them, the Weeping Angels, used a telepathic connection with her, as they did with each other.

"They have allowed one of them to leave. The other must die." The black-haired older boy jumped to his feet.

"Me. Take me. It was my dad that did it. If anything, I should die. Let Tei go. You two will take him somewhere nice with your ship, right?" The Doctor stared in horror at the Engelin and then at the boys. The blonde jumped to his feet, eyes beginning to tear up.

"I can't let you do that, Koeren. Take me. Koeren's got more to offer."

"No!" the Doctor said. "You can't make them decide! That's…" he stared, aghast as they tried to determine who died. The Engelin shrugged.

"You two are brothers?" the Master asked, curiously, trying to figure out their relationship. Koeren shook his head.

"No. We're friends. Since we were little. And I can't live without you, Tei." he said, turning to the blonde. "I won't be able to live knowing that you died for me. I'd rather die." The blonde was crying.

"I know. Because that's what I feel." The Master looked back to the Doctor, whose eyes were wide with horror.

"Eashi, you can't let them do this!" he pleaded. She nodded.

"I can. And I will. And I am." She turned her head toward the boys' direction. "Which of you will leave?" They looked at each other. Koeren pulled Tei into a hug. Tei buried his face in Koeren's shirt.

"I don't want to die." he whispered.

"Neither do I." When the Master looked over at door, there was a group of Weeping Angels standing there. When he blinked again, they were standing by the boys.

"No!" the Doctor cried, stepping towards the boys. The Master grabbed him and held him back.

"I can't live without you." Tei said, staring at Koeren's chest, too scared to look past his shirt. Koeren buried his face in Tei's hair.

"And I can't live without you." The Doctor began to struggle against the Master's grasp. The Master refused to let him go. The Angels had turned their heads to Eashi when no one was looking. She faced toward the boys.

"Which of you will live?" she asked, showing no emotion on her face. Koeren bit his lip. Tei grasped Koeren tighter.

"I want to die beside you." he whispered. Koeren nodded, but hesitated.

"Are you sure?" The younger boy nodded. Koeren raised his head to look at the Engelin. "We'll both die together." he said, resolutely. Eashi nodded to the Weeping Angels.

"NO!" the Doctor yelled. Eashi turned her back. They boys had their eyes closed, clinging onto each other. The Master turned his head to the side. And the Doctor blinked. He heard a strangled noise and, when he opened his eyes again, he saw that the two boys no longer had their heads attached to their shoulders. The Angels fell back and Eashi looked to the Master.

"You two may leave now. The Angels want your transport and I can only hold them back for so long." The Master began to drag the Doctor away. The Doctor resisted.

"No! We can't just leave them!" The Master ignored him and began to walk out of the building, dragging the persistent Doctor behind him.

"If they get the TARDIS, Rassalon knows what will happen. We've got to go." The Master pulled him out of the building, scowling at any angels he passed. There were still a couple on the floor, dead, from when he had killed them before. The Doctor was still looking backward towards the room they had come from. He fought the control the Master had even though he knew, as much as he wanted to deny it, that there was nothing he could do.

"Master, at least let me take their bodies." he begged. The older Time-Lord shook his head.

"Doctor, think about it. We can't go back there." As they went up the hill, the Doctor quieted. That wasn't good. When the Doctor wasn't talking, he was thinking. And him thinking about the death of the children was not good for him. The Master took the TARDIS key out of his pocket and shoved it into the lock. He opened the door and pushed the Doctor in. He looked back at the town. There was a pillar of smoke rising from the side of the church. They must have been burning the bodies. The Master turned away and closed the TARDIS doors.

*No! Please!

()Angels! The Angels will protect me from you!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Grand Pause

It was silent on board the TARDIS. The Master sat in his room, the door locked from the outside, letting the drums rack through his body. He was, again, curled in to the corner, mumbling to himself. The Doctor hadn't talked to him in days and did nothing for him, but leave food inside the room when he was sleeping. Without the Doctor to calm them, the drums had simply gotten louder and louder and louder. The Master knotted his fingers in his own hair, trying to block out the beats. They were demanding blood again. There was so much that they wanted, but they couldn't have… Blood, they demanded. Blood. The Master took his hands away from his head and carefully placed the nails of his right hand onto the skin of his left arm. He raked his right hand down as hard as he could, but this only caused a series of painful scratches, there was no blood. Eyes lighting in a strange way, he tried again. And again. And again. He felt a release of adrenaline build up in him. He laughed and tried again. Soon, there were small specks of blood springing from his arm. He smiled and licked the scratches. But that little bit of blood wasn't enough; he needed more. He tried to scratch himself again, but it was taking too long. The Master crawled over to the tray of food the Doctor had left. He took the glass cup and threw it against the wall on the opposite side. It shattered as it hit the ground, spray glass in every direction. The Master might have taken the time to see how beautiful it was, had the bloodlust not been building inside him. He clamoured over to the shards and found one big enough to be used for his devices. He ignored the glass digging its way into his knees as he knelt over the broken glass. He held the sharp glass tightly above his arm. He stabbed it into the soft flesh above the wrist and below the elbow. He screamed in pain and delight. The Master pulled the shard out and put his mouth on the wound, sucking out the wonderfully warm blood. He sat there, mouth on his arm for a few minutes before the Doctor came in. He looked tired, as he had ever since they had left the Engelin, the dead boys, and the Lonely Assassins. He looked much older than he was. He glanced at the Master, the broken glass, and the tray by his feet. The Master didn't look up from his arm. The Doctor walked over and pulled the Master away without saying anything.

"Doctor! Doctor!" the Master cried, delighted. "It tastes so good!" The Doctor's haggard expression didn't change. He removed the insane Time-Lord from the room. "Don't you hear them? The drums! They're so loud!" he began screaming. The Doctor continued to pull him down the hallway without saying a word. The Master fought against the younger Time-Lord's control.

"Stop it." he ordered. Even the Master, who never took orders, stopped when he heard the pain in the Doctor's voice. The Doctor opened a door. Inside of the room, there was a table with straps on it. There was something that looked like a computer next to it. And to their right, there was a large shelf filled with medicine. The Doctor pulled the Master to the table and laid him flat. He strapped the Master's arms in and then his legs. He walked over to the shelf and pulled out some clear liquid in a bottle and some gauze. He walked back to the Master and looked at the quickly bleeding stab wound on his arm. The Doctor poured the liquid over it liberally. The Master screamed and writhed.

"What?" he demanded.

"The strongest anti-septic in the entire universe." the Doctor responded shortly. He began to wrap the gauze as more blood seeped from the wound. The Master flinched as the Doctor pulled the bandage across his arm tightly to make sure it would stay in place. The pain cleared the Master's head momentarily.

"Doctor, it's not your fault. There was nothing that you could do to help them." he said in his moment of lucidity. The Doctor sighed.

"You know that's not true. I could have gotten them out like I did the other girl… I saved her. And if I had really tried, I could have saved them, too." The Master rolled his eyes.

"You really love to beat yourself up, don't you? There were over fifty Lonely Assassins in there. There was no way that you were going to take what they wanted and just waltz out of there. They wanted the kids and you weren't going to be able to do anything about that." he said. The Doctor took a deep breath.

"I could have at least done something." He began to walk out of the room.

"You're not going to leave me here, are you?" he demanded. The Doctor stopped, but didn't look back.

"Yes. I can't trust you on your own. I don't know what stupid thing you'll try next. I'm going to go and clean up the mess you made." he said and left. The Master frowned as the drums began to pulse harder again. He tossed his head from side to side. He pulled at the bonds, trying to manoeuvre a way out. When he found that they were tight enough to contain him, he snarled. He bent forward and began to rip at the straps with his teeth. They weren't made out of very strong material, he soon learned as he found that, after a minute, he managed to rip through half of one. He pulled his hand against what was left of the fabric repeatedly. He didn't care that the fabric was burning his skin, he wanted out. He finally broke the bond containing his left hand. He used it to reach over and free his right one. Then he moved down to his feet. He walked over to the door, trying to ignore the terrible noise pulsating through his every thought. He couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed to the floor, writhing with pain, muttering deliriously to himself. When the Doctor came back, minutes later, he found his former friend on the floor, speaking in tongues. He looked at the table and then at the older Time-Lord. He sighed and bent down.

"Drums, Doctor!" he called in Gallifreyan. The Doctor put a hand on the Master's forehead.

"I know. I know that they're there." He looked, long and hard, at them man lying on the floor.

"Yes!" he yelled, giggling to himself. The Doctor stood up. Without a further glance at the Master, he walked out. The Master lay on the floor for what seemed like hours, laughing to himself. But the banging never stopped. Somewhere, Koschei rose, unbidden from the shadows of the Masters' mind. He begged to be free. He begged to talk to his Theta… The Master stood up quickly and grasped the doorframe.

_Shut up!_ he commanded the voice in his head. "SHUT UP!" he screamed.

_Stop screaming. You're hurting Theta. You know it. You need to go to him. Tell him that it's okay. Tell him that everything will be okay. Do it now, before something bad happens_. The Master shook his head, smiling. His knuckles were turning white as he clenched the exit from the room with all his might, trying to push the voice out. _Listen! You can still fix everything you've ever done. Just let me talk to Theta again_. The Master growled and hit his head against the wall. Once, twice, thrice, four times… _Stop that!_ Koschei yelled, still as loud as before. The Master hit his head another time, hoping desperately that the boy would quiet.

"Never!" he whispered violently. He walked into the hallway.

_You're a monster! _Koschei yelled. _A complete monster! Look what you've done to Theta. He's not even Theta anymore. He's just the Doctor. That's not who he really is. You've destroyed him. You are the only other person he has, the only other Time-Lord. And look at yourself. You're trying to kill yourself in every way imaginable. Don't you get it? Theta needs me. He needs you to be me! He's not going to be able to live much longer if you keep killing him a little more every time you do something stupid._ The Master walked down the hallway, trying to sort through the drums, Koschei yelling, and his own thoughts. He stumbled, no longer able to concentrate. He needed to be rid of everything. It was all too much. _What? You can't!_ Koschei screamed. _It'll kill Theta!_ But his begging fell on a deaf mind. The Master knew what he had to do. And he would get what he wanted. Right then all he wanted was silence, a blissful silence that lasted all of eternity. He staggered down the hallway, grinning like a young child.

"Do you feel this, Koschei?" he asked himself. "There will be quiet. It will be quiet!" He nodded to himself as he reached the area where the pool was. He felt the lusciously cold air hit his face. He slowly walked over to the chair where the Doctor had sat, all those days before. He pulled his shirt off over his head and stripped down to his underthings. He walked over to the side of the pool and sat on the edge. He dangled his feet in. His eyes rolled back into his head as the cool water rolled up his skin.

_You cannot do this! Stop it!_ The Master was tired of people telling him to stop doing things.

"If you had stopped bothering me before, then maybe this wouldn't be a problem. Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about being silenced. Once and for all." Koschei fought violently for control of his body.

_You're insane!_ he cried, fearfully. The Master nodded.

"I know." he said before letting his body slip further into the pool. He was soon up to his waist.

_Get out right now and beg Theta to forgive you. There's still hope! He can make the drums go away. He always could. And you know it. Quit trying to take the easy way out and listen to me for once!_ The words had no effect. If anything, it seemed like they hadn't been said at all.

"Oh, dearest Koschei, you are such a child. As if the Doctor would care to help me anymore. He obviously is no longer as good as he used to be at protecting people. He might enjoy getting rid of me, actually. Less baggage to have to care for."

_You don't believe that. I am YOU and I know you don't believe it. _

"You're dead! You died long ago! Along with your innocence. Your precious little friend left you, didn't he? He left you all alone on Gallifrey. He doesn't care about you. He never did." The Master finished submersing himself and began to swim around a little, warming himself up for what was about to occur.

_Master, me, whatever you want to be called… Stop trying to rationalize your insanity. You can't. Just give me control of the body. I can make Theta happy again. We can travel together, be friends again. Maybe more than friends, if that's what he needs. We could be kids again, just having fun._ The Master sneered at himself, at Koschei, the faded, vague remnant of his younger self.

"Do you know all the times that I've wanted to be with the Doctor, but couldn't, because I knew what he thought of me. He was right. You're right. I am a monster. And isn't the Doctor's job to rid the universe of monsters?"

_No! His goal is to fix things. Not to destroy things. He doesn't go around wantonly killing everything in sight. That's your job…_ Koschei sounded smug. The Master hit his head against the side of the pool, brutally, trying to shut his younger self up.

"Go away. Just go away."

_ No._

"Yes."

_Not until you get out of the pool, abandon this stupid idea, and give me control of the body._

"Never. That will never happen. I can control anything and everything!"

_You're not really this stupid, are you? Don't do this!_

"See! I am in control of this body and I am in control of my future and the Doctor. I can make him do whatever I want. I always have been able to do that. I am the MASTER!"

_No. You are Koschei. Theta never abandoned you. That's just what you want to imagine. And you are not the Master. You. Are. Koschei._

"You're dead. Gone and dead. Leave me alone!" the Master cried. He grabbed his head in his hands and held it there, gently rocking back and forth, his feet barely touching the ground beneath him.

_Theta is coming!_ Koschei cried joyously. The Master swam quickly over to the side nearest to the entrance, submersed all but his nose in the water, and hid in the corner. The water across the pool settled slowly.

"You lied." the Master whispered into the water.

_No. Listen, the drums are quieting a little. He must be coming near._ The Master scoffed at his pathetic hopefulness. But then heard something. Something that sounded far away.

"Master?" the Doctor called. "Master, where are you?" The voice was growing louder. The Master stilled even further. He did not want the Doctor to find him. He sat very still as Koschei begged him to move.

_Theta can help you! Just say where you are and he will take care of you! He always has._ The Master clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as Koschei violently fought to control the body.

"Master?" the Doctor asked, sounding as though he was peeking his head into the pool area. The Master took a careful and small breath, listening intently. He heard a sigh and the sound of retreating footsteps. That meant that the Doctor was leaving. Gleeful, the Master jumped to his feet again.

_You have to stop!_ Koschei said, this time begging as the Master looked at the water in the deeper end of the pool. The Master shook his head.

"You have no idea how long I waited for the drums to go away. Now I have a chance." He got out of the pool and walked over to his shirt. He twisted it around and tied one end onto his left wrist. He eased his way back into the water so that he didn't alert the Doctor and make him come back again. The Master smiled.

_No! No! No! MASTER DON'T DO THIS! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!_ But words didn't matter anymore. All that the Master wanted was to be free. To be free from his memories, his past, his obligations, the Doctor, and free of the drums, most of all. He was so close to achieving his goal. He smiled and tossed his head back, laughing silently.

"Nine hundred years of this torture and now, finally, it will stop." He tapped the side of the pool to the drums and then shook his head. He didn't want to waste any more time, not when the release was so near.

_PLEASE DON'T!_ Koschei screamed mentally. The pain of his concern rocked through the Master's body. He thrashed for a moment, but then composed himself. The end was too near for him to stop now.

"Watch me." he challenged.

_IN RASSALON'S NAME, JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE!_ Koschei tried to force forward all of the memories that he had of himself and Theta. There were bad times, good times, and better times all jumbled together to create a collage of everything the two had ever done as children.

"Too late." the Master declared and sucked in a deep breath of air. He swam down to bottom rung of the ladder. He opened his eyes, ignoring the pain that shot through them. He took the loose end of the shirt and tied it around the last section of the ladder. He knotted it tightly, feeling the air in his body leaving him. He smiled as his body gasped for air. It found nothing but the heavy liquid surrounding him. He tried to inhale again, the water violently leaving his body. He was going to leave and finally be rid of everything. He felt his mind becoming fuzzy. It was a gently feeling, soft and caressing. The Master closed his eyes and embraced the darkness ahead of him as the drums began to fade.

_Theta loves you. _Koschei mumbled from the furthest depths of the Master's mind, sounding tired.

Numbness at the base of the Doctor's skull. He felt it and whipped around. His connection to the Master was fading. That only meant one thing- the Master was dying, The Doctor followed what was left of the fading link, running as fast as he could through the TARDIS. The decaying line led him to the pool. The Doctor rushed in and saw the Master's body in the pool, his feet near the surface, head near the bottom, not moving. The Doctor dove in, not thinking about anything other than saving the life of the only other Time-Lord left. He tugged at the body, but it didn't budge. The Doctor noticed the shirt keeping the Master where he was. The Doctor fumbled with it, trying to loosen it. It took what felt like an eternity to slip his finger under the top layer of the knot. He flicked it upward and unwound the fabric. The Master's body began to sink. The Doctor grabbed him and shoved him to the surface. He pushed him over the side of the pool and jumped out. He skidded to his knees beside the body and shoved, with all of his weight, on the Master's stomach. Water dribbled out of the corners of his mouth. The Doctor began pumping his hands violently above the Master's hearts. He knelt forward and forced oxygen into the other Time-Lord's mouth.

"Breathe!" he cried. "Breathe!" He felt tears well up in his eyes as he continued alternating his CPR patterns. He breathed more air into the Master's lungs. He felt the tears streak down his cheeks and his eyes blurred. He pushed on the left side of the Master's chest twice. Then the right side twice. Then he breathed more air into the Master. Then he repeated it. He heard a strangled breath come from the Master's lips. The Doctor rolled him on his side as more water ran from his mouth. The Master was still limp and didn't open his eyes. The Doctor felt for a pulse. When he found one, he tilted his head forward and rested it on the Master's wet shoulder. "Thank you." he whispered, picking him up. He walked down the halls of the TARDIS, listening carefully to every breath the Master managed. He brought the Master to his room and set him carefully beside the mattress. He ran down to the nearest bathroom, not wanting to leave the other Time-Lord alone at all in case he stopped breathing again. He grabbed a towel and a pair of pyjamas that looked to be the Master's size. When he came back into the room, nothing had changed. The Doctor bent down and began to rub the towel over the older Time-Lord's face. He swept it over his shoulders and chest. He lifted the Master up to dry his back. He then pulled the pyjamas on him and manoeuvred the body under the sheets. The Doctor walked out of the room and found a chair nearby. He dragged it into the Master's room and sat it beside the bed. He closed the door and sat down, watching the Master intently.

"Thank you." he repeated, trying to wrap his head around what was going on. The Master had tried to hang himself in the sanctuary and now he had tried to drown himself. Was he trying to rid himself of the drums or was he just tired? The Doctor knew that at least part of it was his fault. He hadn't listened to Rosealyen's instructions. He had allowed the Master to wander the ship, even though he was mentally unbalanced and obviously was still hurting himself. The Doctor got off of the chair and knelt by the Master. He ran a hand through the damp hair. "What would I do without you?" he asked, more to himself than the Time-Lord. He knew that the Master had helped to shape him into the person he was, but how much did he contribute… "Were you trying to quiet the drums?" he asked, knowing full well that there would be no answer. He planted a kiss on the Master's forehead. "Thank you." He repeated, again. He couldn't explain why he wasn't angry. He was sure that he had all rights to be angry. The man who had torn him down again and again was forced back into his life and then, very similar to baggage, toted around. Then he blamed everything on the Doctor, threw all of his failures in his face, and laughed at then. After all that, he tried to kill himself. He could be angry, but he wasn't. He was simply relieved. At least he had his Master back.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: The Dreams of Anubis

**Contains: NOTHING! A whole chapter without violence or slash or language! Wow.**

_Again, we are finally reaching the start of what will soon become a rather complicated plot! And ya'll will have to let me know if it feels too rushed... Or weird, because originally, it was plotless and then I created a plot that involves everyone from previous chapters, but really starts when you meet Hasani and Tosset here._

The Master opened his eyes slowly. Something was different. He raked in a deep breath and turned onto his other side. On the floor next to him, in his still-wet suit, was the Doctor. His eyes were red and he looked as tired as the Master felt. They stared at each other, not saying a word. Both wanted to break the silence, but weren't sure of how exactly to do that. The Doctor ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, flecking water into the air. The Master propped himself up with his elbow weakly.

"Was it the drums?" the Doctor asked, finally. The Master nodded, slowly. The memories of before were fuzzy, as if a fog was carefully laid over the most recent memories. "Was it me?" he asked. The Master shook his head.

"It was me." he said, resolutely. "It had nothing to do with you. I promise." The last words surprised the Doctor. The Master rarely promised anything. The Doctor peeled his arm out of the jacket he was wearing and loosened his tie.

"At least you're okay." He was watching the Master carefully. The Master stared at the Doctor's state. He was wet, shivering slightly, and looked incredibly tired. The Master moved further back on the mattress and stared into the Doctor's eyes.

"Doctor, you're exhausted." he stated. "Just come here." The Doctor hesitated a moment.

"I'll get everything soaked." The Master rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, because I was being stupid. Just come here." he said, shaking his head. The Doctor pulled off his shoes. Water sloshed out of them. He removed his socks and then lay on the furthest side of the mattress. "Do I smell or something?" the Master demanded. The Doctor inched closer, putting his wet head on the pillow. His eyes were drooping.

"Can I trust you to not run off through the TARDIS and take over the world for the next few hours?" The Master shrugged teasingly and pulled a loose blanket over his friend.

"I'm pretty sure I can sleep a little more. Drowning takes a lot out of you…" In retrospect, the Master decided that the comment wasn't necessary, but at the point in time, he felt like it had to be said.

"Rescuing someone takes a lot out of you." the Doctor added, softly. He put a hand under his head and pulled the blanket closer to his neck. The silence sat heavily in the room. There was obviously something weighing on the Doctor's mind. "Please promise me that you will never do something like that again." The Master nodded immediately.

"Promise." He felt his eyelids drooping down slowly.

"Good. Because I never, ever, want to do that again." The Doctor jabbed a finger into the Master's bony chest. The Master good-naturedly smacked the hand away. "Losing you would be too hard." The Master thought about his final moments. As vague as they were, sitting in the recesses of his mind, there was something he remembered.

"So I'm not just a nuisance to you?" he asked. "Not some pet or a piece of luggage that you have to cart around everywhere you go?" The Doctor quickly shook his head. "Because I feel like it. I'm here in your TARDIS, the last TARDIS, eating your food, wasting your time, and taking advantage of everything." The Doctor smiled tiredly.

"You're disrupting my sleep. And if you continue to do that, I will hold a permanent grudge. And no. Don't feel that way. Sure, I feel responsible, but I took you off of Rhi because I wanted to make you better, not because I felt like I had to. You're my friend. You always have been. Even when you destroyed everything I had worked for a thousand times over, I still knew that we were friends. It didn't matter what you did because, once, when we were much younger, we would chase each other around on your father's property all day. We would run through the fields of Gallifrey, laughing the entire time. We were the best of friends…" the Doctor said, but stopped abruptly. He was avoiding saying the Master's real name in case it triggered another destructive spiral.

"Look who's disrupting whose sleep now." the Master pretended to grumble. "We saw Gallifrey again." The Doctor shook his head.

"We did not see Gallifrey. It came back for a moment and then it was gone. And you with it. I never got to see it again." The Master shrugged.

"It wasn't worth seeing." he said, softly. "Everything was different. The Citadel, the Academy, everything was ravaged. The endless field were brown, only dirt after fires tore through them and killed everything in their paths. Gallifrey had fallen, Doctor. Just like we have. The Time-Lords and their precious planet were wiped from history at the same time. And in time, too, that no one had to see how far they really had fallen. It was a good thing that you did, Doctor." The Doctor ignored the last comment. He would never accept that what he did to Gallifrey was the right thing.

"There was always a choice. I should have let Gallifrey live." he muttered to himself. He was getting too tired to concentrate on much of anything, but he did know that the Master was going to try to argue his point.

"No. Stop that. We're both too drained to start a fight. I am going to sleep and you are going to quit acting melancholy and sleep, too." The Doctor smiled and closed his eyes. The Master rolled so that his back was facing the Doctor and closed his eyes as well. It was hard not to try and push through the memories to remember exactly what happened earlier, but there was something much more pressing on the older Time-Lord's mind. He couldn't fight the welcoming grasp of sleep any longer. With a sigh, he slipped into a dream world filled with water, the Doctor, and his Gallifrey.

* * *

><p>When he woke, he found that the Doctor was still asleep, sprawled across much more than half of the mattress. The Master rolled off, trying his best not to disturb the Doctor. He wondered where they were now and what time it was. Not as though those mattered anyway on a TARDIS. He looked down at his pyjamas and raised an eyebrow. He padded quietly out of the room and walked to the back of the TARDIS where the pool was. Without looking at the water where he had tried to kill himself, he grabbed the clothes that he had left there. He pulled off the pyjamas and redressed himself. The shirt he had used to tie himself to the ladder was sitting at the bottom of the pool. He ignored the fact and decided that it didn't matter whether or not he was wearing a shirt anyway. He went to the kitchen and found a loaf of bread. He unwrapped it and took out the first piece he saw. He ate it slowly, savouring each bite. He wondered what he was going to do next, now that the Doctor wasn't watching him. He took a left down the hallway and then a right. He continued until he found himself in the control room. He walked to the door and opened them. In front of him lay endless field of black space. Few stars shined anywhere. The Master wondered where they were. With that running through his head, he shut the doors and walked back to his room. He was going to wait for the Doctor to wake up before he did anything. He opened the door and walked in quietly. The Doctor hadn't moved since the Master had left. The Master walked over to the side of the mattress he had been sleeping on and lay down on it. He watched the Doctor's eyes flick behind his eyelids, dreaming. There was something strange about being that close to the Doctor, the Master determined. Neither of them was fighting for power and neither one was trying to kill each other. The Doctor rolled closer the Master and woke up.<p>

"Doctor, you're stealing my half." he said, smiling. The Doctor blinked and then looked around. He noticed that he was definitely encroaching on the Master's side. He rolled back a little and rubbed his eyes.

"Right. Are you feeling better?" the Master shrugged. His lungs hurt. And his arm hurt where he had stabbed himself. Other than that he was relatively fine. "What hurts?" he asked.

"My chest. Arm. It's not anything too bad. If anything, I'm used to it." The Doctor frowned and propped himself up.

"Let me see your arm." he requested. The Master pulled the damp gauze off of his arm and looked at the inflamed area around his arm. The Doctor brought a hand to it carefully and began to inspect it. "How badly does it hurt?"

"Less than being shot. More than getting bitten by an insect." he said, dodging he question. The Doctor sat up and stood up. He held a hand out for the Master. The Master accepted it and got to his feet. The Doctor began to lead him out of the room.

"Where are we going?" he asked, trying to figure out if the Doctor was dragging him back to the med room.

"I don't want that getting infected." he said, giving a glance to the Master's stab wound. The Master rolled his eyes.

"So where are you taking me?" The Doctor walked to the control panel and looked back at the Master, confused. "You know… What doctor and what time are you going to bring me to?" The Doctor paused, thinking.

"I know four doctors… Well, three…. Well, two… Well, one that wouldn't kill you on sight." The Master stared, unimpressed with the Doctor. He waited for an explanation.

"Well, there's Martha. And she hasn't forgiven you for what you did to me and her family. She would kill you on the spot. And with Jack's little group… Torchwood three, I think it is. There's a doctor there. And Jack hasn't forgiven you for what you did to him. And the other man I was thinking of died a little bit ago. Or maybe a long time ago. And I can't interfere with his time-line." The Master raised his eyebrows.

"So who does that leave us with?" he asked. The Doctor jumped to his feet, smiling. He began to punch in coordinates. The Master watched. "Ancient Egypt?" he demanded, looking at the time and location. "Are you trying to kill me?" The Doctor pulled a lever with flourish and clutched to it tightly as the TARDIS started roughly, tossing them around. The Master lost his balance as the floor underneath him was shifting. He grasped the railings around the control panel as the entire structure shook. When it had stopped, the Doctor grabbed his trench coat from one of the poles beside the exit. He opened the doors widely and walked out into the desert in front of him. The Master walked out, still trying to figure out why the Doctor was bringing him to such an odd time. And place. "Where are we?" he demanded, hoping to get more information.

"Cairo!" he said, smiling. "Next to the Nile." he elaborated. "And if you'll look over there, you'll see the Pyramids of Giza." The Master glanced to where he was pointing.

"There's nothing there." he said, trying not to get too impatient with the Doctor, who was obviously enjoying himself.

"Not yet, there isn't! But the Egyptians are getting around to it. Now come on, we have a doctor to meet up with." The Master walked under the hot sun, looking for something to indicate life. He looked to where the Doctor had pointed, the spot where the pyramids would lie someday, and where they were heading. He saw movement back and forth.

"So we're going to see some shaman to pour snake venom all over me and wave some scents in front of me?" he asked, glumly. The Doctor shook his head.

"Oh no, no, no. The woman I'm looking for is much smarter than that." he said. "Lighten up, Master. This is better than somewhere we could be heading. At least I don't think that this will go awry…" He stopped speaking when he heard yelling in front of them.

"The blue box!" someone yelled, excited.

"He has arrived!" another person cried. The Master scowled.

"Always popular, aren't you?" he demanded softly. The Doctor turned around.

"Are you upset about something?" the Doctor asked. "If you don't want to get your arm checked here, I can take us to some generic hospital in the twentieth century." He was going to say more, but he was cut off by a tall, black-haired man walking over, a gun pointed between the Doctor's eyes. He had dark skin, his eyes as darks as his face. His lips were pressed tightly together.

"Move and there'll be a bullet between your eyes in a matter of seconds." The Master instinctively slid in front of the barrel. The Doctor chuckled.

"Tosset. It's nice to see you again." The tall man shook his head and smiled. He put the gun down and looked the Master over.

"I'd take it you're here to see Hasani, then. With him in this condition." The Master looked down at the white lines stretching across his body and his ribs, which were still protruding roughly from his stomach. His ribs were perfectly countable. And he wasn't wearing a shirt. The Doctor nodded.

"If she's available, I would like to check with her about some things, yes." Tosset grabbed the Master's shoulder and held one finger in front of his face.

"Okay, human, track my finger." The Master intentionally went cross-eyed.

"Maybe if I were a human, I'd listen to someone like you. Since I'm not, I won't." The Doctor cut in, pulling the Master away.

"The Master is a Time-Lord, like me." he said, softly. Tosset's eyes widened. He dropped to his knees.

"Forgive me." he said, loudly. The Master chuckled, but stopped when the Doctor shot him a glance.

"It's fine. You didn't know any better. Now where, in the name of Rassalon, are you taking me?" he got to his feet slowly and looked to the Doctor.

"Tosset's wife, Hasani, is a doctor. She'll make sure that you're fine." Tosset nodded to both of them and swept a hand across the desert.

"She will be waiting." he said, and brought a finger to his ear. The Master then noticed that he had a small silver earpiece sitting above his ear. Intrigued, he turned to the Doctor who wasn't watching him. "Hasani, the Doctor is here. He has a Time-Lord that he'd like you to take a look at." There was hissing on the other side of the microphone, the sound of someone else responding. Tosset paused. "I'll wait to let you do that." he said, smiling, and turned to the two Time-Lords. "Come along. We'll reach the tent in a minute." The Doctor smiled to Tosset and put a hand on the Master's back, forcing him forward.

"That's from the forty-ninth century." the Master said suspiciously, eyeing the earpiece. Tosset nodded. "Then why do you have it in ancient Egypt?" he asked. Tosset turned to the Doctor.

"Have you told him nothing?" he asked. The Doctor gave a small sigh.

"It didn't get brought up. Slipped my mind, really..." There were tents on the horizon. The Master then saw the bricks beginning to jut out of the sand. The start of the pyramids sat before him. Tosset looked as though he didn't believe the younger Time-Lord.

"If you don't want to mention it…" he trailed off. "Hasani!" he called. There was no reply. He walked closer to the first tent he came upon. "Hasani…?" He opened the flap to the tent and motioned for the Doctor to go in. The Doctor dragged the Master in behind him. Both Time-Lords were blinded and gagged by the thick smoke of burning incense.

"I was right!" the Master said, frowning. "Now I know what comes next- the snake venom." The Doctor put a finger on the Master's lips. The Master licked it. The younger Time-Lord pulled away quickly, shooting the Master a disgusted look.

"Doctor, it's nice to see you again," a gentle voice said. A petite woman came out of the shadows of the tent wearing nothing but a small dress made of leopard skins. The Master opened his mouth to say something about the fact that he didn't want to be bled, but was stopped by the Doctor gently kicking him.

"Hello, Hasani. Always a treat to see you." he said, walking over and kissing both of her cheekbones. She smiled lightly and looked at the Master.

"Doctor, animal cruelty is a terrible thing. You should feed your dog more often." she said, teasingly. The Master frowned and glared at her.

"You don't seem to mind too much that you've stolen a poor cat's fur right off of its hide." he opposed.

"The Pharaoh gave it to me. He told me that I needed to look the part of an oracle. It's amazing what a little technology can do to earn you status in these years. So, what do you want me to do?" she asked. "Other than feed him?" The Doctor hesitated. "That cut on his arm isn't a cut. At this angle, it looks like a stab wound. Made easily with the other hand. And the scars across his chest tell the same story." The Master snarled.

"Quit trying to show off and make sure my arm is fine so we can leave." She walked over to him and grabbed his arm. For someone so small, the Master would never have expected her to have the grip she did.

"I'm only showing off because Tosset likes it." she promised. She looked at the Master and then back at his arm. "Glass?" she asked. He nodded after a moment. He didn't care to ask her how she knew. She held his arm tightly and reached her small fingers into the cut. The Master sucked air in through his teeth as she jabbed around. She raised her eyebrows and pulled her hand out. In her fingers was a small shard of glass. She tossed it to the floor. Touching the area around the wound, she looked intrigued. "It's fine." she said, releasing him from her hold. "Just whatever you did to irritate it, don't do it again. It's not infected or anything. And it didn't touch the bone." The Doctor smiled.

"Thank you, Hasani. This means a lot to me. Now the Master and I must be going. We have other things to do…" The Master noted how anxious the Doctor was to leave, suddenly. That meant that something interesting was going to happen.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, talking to the Doctor, "I'd love to stay around for a while." The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'd love for you two to stay. I need you to look over one of my cell replicators; it seems to have stopped working." The Doctor pointed a finger at the Master.

"If you want something fixed, he's your Time-Lord. He's very technological. He held me make my first sonic screwdriver…" The Master remembered, briefly, a time at the Academy when they had worked on the screwdriver. That was the night that they had been asked to put up a roomful of cabinets, all those years ago.

"I will take you up on that." Hasani said, quickly.

"-But we still have to go." The Doctor was obviously trying to leave too fast. Now the Master was curious. He put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"I've always wanted to see Egypt." he said, smiling at him pleadingly. The Doctor could not deny the Master when he truly begged. The Doctor scowled.

"Fine. An hour tops. And then we're leaving." Hasani grabbed the Master's wrist and began to drag him out of the tent. "Please bring him back to me in one piece." the Doctor begged as she pulled him out.

"Of course." she shouted back. The Master took a deep breath of the fresh, dry air when he was out of the way of the incense. She looked him up and down. "When we're done with the repairs, I'm feeding you. And I'm not taking no for an answer." The Master didn't reply. She shifted her position and stared him in the eyes. "You didn't seem to mind talking in there? What changed?" He sighed and shook his head.

"You're not from this time—" he started, but she cut him off.

"Really, Sherlock, you didn't figure that out?" she asked, sarcastically. "We're from the forty-ninth century. Well, I am, at least. No one knows when Tosset is from." The Master nodded slowly.

"Yes, I assumed as much. So why are you here, in ancient Egypt of all places?" Hasani laughed and shook her head.

"He didn't tell you? Well, it will be a bit of a long story." She started walking towards the bricks starting the pyramids. The Master walked beside her. "Tosset was working with the Time Agency for a while, but then he met me. He quit the Time Agency and through a series of slightly related event, we were both kidnapped and shoved onto a ship. There, we met the Doctor. He was tied up in the corner of the cell we were thrown into, smiling. There was a woman there, Donna she was called. And she ranted the entire first few minutes we were there about how this Doctor had messed up all of their plans. Tosset found that he had one of those ancient knives with him, something he got during a stint with the Time Agency, so he got us out of our ropes. The Doctor proceeded to tell us his plan to break out. It consisted of Donna and I distracting the men guarding the engine room and him blowing it up, so the ship couldn't travel. Apparently, he had found out that there were about seventy people on board. They all belonged to about seven planets respectively. And there were nine escape pods aboard the ship. So he took out his screwdriver and set his plan into action. Donna and I were supposed to flirt with them, at least that was what was implied, but we decided that it was much more entertaining to tie them up. So we threw them in a closet after tying their hands with what was left of our ropes. Then we followed the Doctor into the engine room. He shut them down permanently and got everyone onto their ships and started off in his little blue box. Tosset and I were about to leave when we found that some crew members had already boarded the pods. Of course, we decided that we didn't want to stay in that time and asked the Doctor to take us here." The Master was not impressed.

"So how do you have technology here?" he asked. Hasani glanced at him.

"I don't see why the Doctor cares to cart you around. You're too much of a sceptic. Well, something screwed up in the TARDIS when we landed. Tosset promised to help him fix it if we were allowed to raid some of the TARDIS' supplies. I planned on getting the Doctor to take us to a time I actually wanted to see, but Tosset had his heart set on staying here. So stay here we did after making sure that we enough technology to find us some interesting positions here. All of the Egyptians are such a superstitious lot, it was easy to get what we wanted after we predicted the weather a few times and showed them some basic geometry…" The Master still was not impressed. She noticed. "If you're going to act like that, I'll continue to annoy you." she threatened. "Why did you stab yourself?" she asked.

"It shouldn't matter to you." he said, his voice dangerously quiet. That didn't keep her from interrogating him.

"It does, though." she stopped in front of a tent. "We will finish this discussion in a minute." she said and stepped into the tent. The Master stood, feeling the sun beating down on him. He heard the sound of sand shifting behind him. He turned around to see the Doctor behind him.

"Master." he said, softly. The Master looked him in the eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked. The Doctor put his hand on the Master's shoulder and sighed.

"Don't listen to anything Hasani says." he warned. He pulled his hand away and walked away. The Master looked after him, confused. Hasani popped her head out to see that the Master was staring down the line of tents. She held out a small cylinder and prodded the Master's side with it.

"Here it is." she said. She went back into the tent and popped back out with a screwdriver and a laser. She handed them to the Master.

"Do you want me to fill it with sand or is there a table I can work at?" Hasani shook her head. The Master shrugged and sat down on the sand. He popped and pulled the covering over the screen off and held it against his arm. The green lights on the side didn't light up. He frowned and brought the screwdriver around to the side of it. He forced it between a fracture in the metal, cracking one side open.

"Watch it! There's only two of these and the Doctor's already said that he won't give me any more after these are gone." The Master pulled open the back and looked around. He began to gut it, pulling strands and wires out. Hasani watched, sitting beside him. Her expression was a mix of interest and concern. "Be careful." she pleaded.

"If you would be quiet, I might try harder not to break it." he hissed. She stopped talking as he looked closer at the wiring. He picked up the laser and began to cut through a cord.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm making it so it can fly to the Lost Moon of Poosh riding a Slitheen. Quit asking me questions." The only reason the Master was really being snippy was because he was trying to figure out what the Doctor was talking about. And he was trying to figure out why the touch had jolted him so much…

"Only if you treat me nicer." The Master looked up at her with narrowed eyes and then back at the wiring. He cut another cord and began to mesh them together using the laser very carefully. He shoved the cords back in and held it to his skin again. The green lights flickered and then stayed on. He tossed it to her. She caught it gingerly. She picked up the tools he used, "I could try this on your arm, but it has a tendency to malfunction and shock people that aren't humans," and walked back to the tent.

"What? No thank you?" he demanded, standing up. Hasani came out, smiling. She shook her head. The Doctor walked down the row of tents.

"Master? The TARDIS doesn't like the heat…" he said. The Master already guessed as much. He turned to Hasani.

"It's nice to see you again." she said to the Doctor. "I'm pretty much a goddess here. I suppose that you're really the one to thank." She walked over and kissed his cheekbone. She stepped back and stared evenly at the Master. "And I suppose I see why he travels with you." She looked past the Doctor to see Tosset.

"Goodbye." he said, smiling to the Doctor. He held a hand out. The Doctor shook it. He offered the hand to the Master, who grudgingly shook it.

"Thank you for looking at the Master. If I have to, I may come back for his check-ups." Hasani cleared her throat.

"And in the name of Anubis, feed the poor man." She looked at the Master's bare skin and then at the Doctor. "Starving a person is never the answer." she teased. The Doctor smiled at her fondly.

"I suppose that I can take pity on him and give him something every once and a while…"

"Rassalon, no more bananas." the Master said under his breath. The Doctor pretended to look offended by the statement. Hasani ducked into the tent again and Tosset looked at the two Time-Lords.

"Good luck," he said and followed her into the tent.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Remember the Forgotten

**WARNING: Includes slash! In fact, that's just what most of this chapter is...**

_Do YOU think that this story sucks? Do YOU think that this story rocks your socks off? Let me know! And give me recommendations, too! _

The Master lay in his bed, trying to think of why he couldn't sleep. There was something haunting him. Something from long in his past. He had pushed those years away, attempting to make everything the way he wanted it. There was something from those forgotten years that was trying to press to the surface. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. After another moment of maddening silence, he got to his feet. He walked out of his room, which the Doctor hadn't locked again after he left the Master, approximately a day since they left Hasani and Tosset in Egypt. He walked to the Doctor's room and opened the door without knocking. The Doctor propped himself up.

"Did you want something, Master?" he asked, sounding as awake as the Master did. The Master shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep." The Doctor swept his feet over the side of the bed.

"Neither can I. And I want some tea. Do you want some tea?" The Master stepped out of the Doctor's way and let him walk out into the brightly lit hallway. The Master shrugged again.

"Sure." he said, noncommittally. He didn't particularly want it, but it was who was asking, not what was being offered that made him accept the offer. The Doctor smiled at him and walked into the kitchen. He filled a container with water and set it on a base. He clicked a button on and pulled out some tea bags. He found a pair of mugs and put the tea bags in. Now all he had to do was wait for the water to be hot enough. The Master stood in front of the Doctor. They were rather close together. "Why did you tell me not to listen to Hasani?" he asked. The Doctor dropped his gaze pretended to be distracted.

"She forgot to feed you." he said, as if he had just noticed. The Master blocked the Doctor's exit as he tried to move to the pantry. "What?" he asked innocently. "Don't you want some food?"

"What did you think she was going to say?" The Doctor heard a click coming from behind him. He flipped around and began to pour the tea into the cups. When he was done, he handed one to the Master. The Master accepted it, his eyes narrowed. The Doctor took a sip of the too-hot, still entirely water-y tea. He choked on it slightly. "Tell me." the Master said, bringing his face very close the Doctor's. He knew how to get what he wanted. He always knew. And he was going to get what he wanted. He was positive of it.

"She connected with the TARDIS once." he said quickly and dodged out of the Master's control. He paused, staring after the Doctor.

"That's it? She connected with your TARDIS once and you were afraid I'd find out about it? That's… not right. There's something more here that I'm missing." The Doctor bobbed his head slightly.

"She has a connection to the TARDIS, the TARDIS has a connection to me… Therefore, Hasani had a connection to me for a while when she was on board. It was short, but enough to be concerning." The Master sat his mug on the counter, just as uninterested in it as before.

"So she knew your memories for a second. What did you think she was going to say?" The Doctor shrugged.

"Maybe she'd tell you how to override the controls I've placed on the TARDIS or something. How was I supposed to know? She'd taken a fancy to you. Rassalon only knows what she could have said to you." The Master still didn't believe it. He picked his mug back up and took a slow sip. He leaned against the counter.

"Maybe she'd tell me how many of your companions you've been with." The Master paused for affect. "I really should have asked her that…" The Doctor looked horrified.

"What? I don't think of any of my companions like that!" he sounded genuinely offended and upset, so the Master stopped pressing him. "You don't believe me?" he asked. The Master nodded, slightly.

"The blonde… Rose… You loved her, didn't you?" The Doctor hesitated. His expression grew darker.

" Master, drop it. This is not important to anything. Now you're just trying to upset me."

"No. I'm not. I'm honestly curious. Did you shag her? How about the freak? Or Martha?" The Doctor grew progressively redder on his face and his glare became more directed.

"None of the others. Now stop it. Right now." The Master took a sip of the tea and wiggled his eyebrows to the Doctor. The Doctor scowled and took another sip. "Please just stop it." The Master accepted the fact that the Doctor wasn't going to say anything to him about the companions. At least not for a while.

"Fine." he grumbled and took a large sip, letting the still-too-hot water burn his tongue. He swallowed it painfully and looked at the Doctor. The Doctor wasn't looking back; he seemed to be rather intrigued with the leg of a chair at the side of the room. The Master finished his cup and put it on the counter. After a minute, the Doctor was done as well. He silently left the kitchen and went to his bedroom. The Master followed. The Doctor opened the door and walked over to the bed.

"Goodnight, Master." he said. The door shut the light of the hallway out, so it was nearly pitch-black in the room. There was movement beside him.

"Scoot over. You're taking up the entire bed." the Master grumbled softly. The Doctor didn't move.

"What are you doing here still?"

"Just shut up and move over." he ordered. The Doctor did as he was told. The Master pulled the sheets over himself and mumbled something.

"What did you say?" the Doctor asked.

"For what I said earlier… I'm sorry." he grumbled, softly. The Doctor froze. He had never heard those words slip from the other Time-Lord's lips. "And don't say anything or I'll figure out how to override your TARDIS controls and leave you on some planet in the middle of a dead galaxy." At least there was something familiar about what the Master was saying.

"It's fine. You might as well ask." the Doctor said with a shrug that the Master couldn't see.

"I suppose I have a right to after the time we spent together as children." The Doctor thought back to Gallifrey, wondering what the Master was talking about. "How you always used to say you'd love me and only me… That must give me some right to know the people that you've loved since."

"That's not true." the younger Time-Lord tried to argue.

"Oh? Really? Not? We used to lie in the grass for hours and you'd tell me how important I was to you. Tell me that never happened. Tell me that was lie or a game."

"No. I was meaning that you didn't need to know anyone else." There was something guarded about the way the younger Time-Lords said it that made the Master suspicious.

"It wasn't the freak. He's not your type." the Master deduced. "And not Dr. Jones. And not the other girl, Donna, I think… So it must be the blonde… Rose, right? You loved her?" The Doctor nodded sadly.

"I did once, but now she's happy without me." he said softly, nearly bitterly. There something about her memory that seemed to set the Doctor off. The Master pulled the blankets closer to his face and rolled onto his still-aching shoulder.

"Where's that magical cream you had before. The one that got rid of the worst of my cuts well. Can't we just use that?" he asked. The Doctor chuckled quietly.

"I suppose you would believe me if I told you that that simply slipped my mind?" The Master nodded. The Doctor had always been scatter-brained. And he often was thinking several sentences ahead of what he was saying, as well. "I'll get that if you want." he offered. The Master shook his head.

"It can wait. I don't want to get out from under here. It's too warm. It's not like it's going to kill me before then anyway…" The Doctor put a hand on the Master's shoulder. The Master craned his head to look at the other Time-Lord. "What?" he asked softly.

"What were you thinking about? Before you tried to kill yourself." The older Time-Lord paused a moment to think. He tried to push through the haze covering the moments, curious himself. He thought about the drums, yes, but he always thought about the drums. That was not anything new, so the Doctor wouldn't care to hear that.

"I don't know." he said, hoping the other Time-Lord would buy it.

"Really?" the Doctor asked, genuinely concerned and intrigued.

"Koschei was thinking of… you…." the Master muttered under his breath. The last thing Koschei had said to him- Theta loves you… Koschei hadn't spoken since then. The Doctor was shocked to hear something so foreign as the Master's own name coming out from his lips in third person. He blinked several times rapidly before he could even imagine responding.

"What… What did you… he… say?"

"He told me that you loved me." the Master ground out. He didn't want to have to deal with any of the Doctor's soppy emotional moments. He just wanted to pretend to be asleep and forget anything ever happened. The Doctor turned away from the Master.

"Night." he said, quickly. The Master nodded and closed his eyes. He fell asleep, but the Doctor didn't. He sat up for the rest of the time the Master was sleeping. He was trying desperately to sort out his emotions into some way that made sense. Normally, he would have said that he cared for the Master, that he felt responsible for the insane, only Time-Lord left in existence, maybe even that he pitied his former friend. And yet there was something that seemed to ring so true about what the Master said. There was a time when he loved Koschei. On Gallifrey, he would tell Koschei that all the time. The words I love you were no stranger to him then.

_"Kosch, I love you." Theta declared, sitting up. "You are the only person I've ever loved." Koschei smiled at Theta's attempt at a dignified and profound statement._

_ "You say that too much. Soon it's not going to mean anything." Theta smirked._

_ "So that's why you never say you love me. You're afraid that I'll get sick of it? Well, I can tell you now that that's not going to happen. I. Love. You. And nothing is going to change that." Koschei nodded, believing that. The silent moment made Theta think. "Please tell me you love me. Please." _

That night, Koschei didn't reply. He never did. He would tell the young Theta that he was 'his' or that he wanted to make sure that he was okay, but even as a child, he didn't seem to ever admit love. He would display it, but never announce it. That had always bothered the young Theta. He wanted Koschei to tell him, just once, that he loved him, but it never happened. All that time on Gallifrey together…

_Theta lay in Koschei's arms, enjoying the quiet around them. It was starting to get colder and darker, but he didn't care. He nuzzled his head against Koschei's chest. Koschei tightened his hold on the younger boy. "You're warm." Theta said, crawling on top of him awkwardly. "You're like my own little sun." Koschei smirked and planted a small, teasing kiss on Theta's forehead. _

_ "The moon's coming out. It's going to be night soon." Theta nodded. _

_ "And I won't be moving off of you any time soon. It's cold. And you are not." he whispered and put his cold hands on Koschei's neck. The older boy shuddered. _

_ "Theta, in the name of Rassalon, get your frigid hands off my neck." Theta pulled away, smiling brightly. _

_ "You…." He slid his hands under the older boy's back. "Are so warm." Koschei rolled to the side suddenly and pinned Theta down. _

_ "And you are always cold! Stop trying to use me like a heater." He brought their faces very close to each other._

_ "You're my sun, though! That's like asking Gallifrey's suns to stay away from her!" Theta cried, laughingly as Koschei kissed him._

The Doctor tried to push away the unbidden memories that rose. He had tried to forget all those years, but found it impossible time and time again. There was too much of importance in those years for him to simply pretend that they never happened- all of his years at the Academy and the time that he discovered what love was. But did he love the Master? Theta loved Koschei, but those two children were dead, replaced with the Doctor and the Master. And they were no longer the same people. Theta and Koschei were dead. They had been for hundreds of years. The Master stirred beside the Doctor and rolled to his other shoulder and closer to the Doctor. He was still asleep. The Doctor looked into his sleeping face, trying to understand himself and what he was feeling. It was strange to see the Master looking so at peace. He always had his own demons that stalked him and haunted him. The Doctor brought a hand up to the Master's face and pushed his hair to the side gently. There was something there, some affection for the man who called himself the Master, but the Doctor wasn't sure if it was simply the dead Theta trying to resurrect himself or if it was truly there.

For the rest of the time the Master slept, the Doctor attempted to organise his thoughts. When the Master woke up, the Doctor wasn't in the room. The Master inched over to the side of the bed and regretfully peeled the blankets off of him. He ran a hand through his hair and yawned. He stretched for a moment and then looked around. There were clothes and books scattered everywhere. Maps were trailing over a small table in the corner. The Master walked over to it and glanced at a map of London. He turned away quickly, forcing the name _Mr. Saxon_ from his mind. It weighed in the back of his head heavily. He walked out quickly and wondered where the Doctor had gone to. He took a wild guess and walked into the kitchen. The Doctor was not there, but there was a breakfast laid out for him. He walked over to the stack of pancakes, glass of milk, and peaches that had been placed on the table. He picked a pancake up slowly and took a small bite. He had told the Doctor last night that he loved him. Did he really mean that? _No, you said that Koschei reminded you that Theta loved Koschei. _he argued to himself. But this was not good reassurance. What if the Doctor still loved him? Did the Master love him in return. He ate another pancake in silence. The TARDIS was humming in the back of his mind, quieting the drums. This caught the Master's attention.

"What?" he asked her, wondering her motives. "And how in Rassalon's name are you making them quiet?"

_I am projecting the Doctor's presence in your mind_. she explained. _The Doctor is in the library._

"Why do I care?" he asked, draining the milk.

_You travelled with him before._ she said simply and she pulled out of his mind. The drums were still quieter, but her presence no longer lingered.

"What do you mean?" he asked, growling. Yes, he had travelled in the TARDIS once or often when the Doctor had first gotten it, but then the Doctor left him, simply left him, on Gallifrey to be so utterly alone for the rest of his life. There was no answer. "Stupid ship." he muttered and jammed his heel into the tile below his feet. He was positive that the action hurt him more than the TARDIS, but he still could pretend that it didn't. He grabbed the bowl of peaches after finishing another pancake. He ate a few, still wondering what the TARDIS meant by what she said. When he was done he stood up, debating about whether or not to go into the library. He hadn't made a decision when his feet carried him there, seemingly with a mind of their own. He knocked on the door, but the motion made it swing open slightly. He stepped in to see the Doctor mesmerised by a small screen in the corner. Noiselessly, the Master walked over, curious as to what he was watching. He was standing behind the Doctor when he froze. On the screen were Theta and Koschei.

_"Thete!" Koschei called, laughingly. Theta was right behind him, staring in awe at the beauty of the new TARDIS. It was his own. He would never have to give it back. He owned this TARDIS. The thought was distracting him. _

_ "We have all of time and space ahead of us… Where should we go?" he asked, barely managing to form the words as the sounds came out of his mouth. He swept a hand over her control panel. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." He took a moment to bask in the glory of his new TARDIS, but then looked over at Koschei who began to blush furiously. "What?" _

_ "The bedroom?" he offered softly, blushing the bright red colour he had been before. Theta's eyes lit up. He looked around the control room until he found the hallway. He took Koschei's hand into his own and they walked down the hallway together. The first door he opened was a closet. The second door was a bathroom. Koschei felt something at the base of his skull. He opened his awareness._

The first bedroom is thirteenth door to your right after you take the second left. _the TARDIS offered. Koschei began to take the lead. Theta looked goofy as he was being dragged through the TARDIS hallways. Koschei counted to the doors eagerly. Soon he reached the thirteenth door. He pulled it open to reveal a large bedroom. It had a large bed in the middle of it. The sheets on the left were black and on the right they were white. There was table in the corner of the room and chair in the farthest right recesses of the room. There was also a door that looked like it either led to a bathroom of a closet. Koschei pulled Theta in, kissing him._

The Master cleared his throat, causing the Doctor to jump, nearly out of his seat. He whipped around to see the Master and sighed.

"You're not going to watch them do that are you?" he asked, sadly. He didn't know why he was so sad. It seemed irrational. He didn't care about Theta or Koschei anymore. They were both long dead and gone.

_Tell him you love him_! The remnants of Koschei offered from the back of the Master's mind_. I never would. You have to do it. Please._ The Doctor stood up and clicked the screen off. He looked deeply into the Master's eyes.

"Was there a time that you ever loved me?" he asked, reluctantly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. The Master brought his gaze to the floor. The Doctor put a hand under his chin and pulled it up so they were staring each other in the eyes.

"I'm broken, Doctor." he said. Those were not his words, they were Koschei's. And yet, for some odd reason, they felt so natural coming from his lips. They were true. The Master believed them, the Doctor believed them.

"I know." he said, sadness etching itself deep into his features. "And I did that to you. I am so sorry." He pulled the Master into a hug. The Master let a ragged breath out.

"So broken." he said, his voice a whisper. The Doctor put a hand in the Master's hair and simply enjoyed the moment.

"I'm sorry." he said. The Master wrapped his arms around the Doctor. There was something reassuring about the touch of the man he grew up with. The Master brushed his lips against the Doctor's cheekbone, surprising even himself. The closer he was to the younger Time- Lord the quieter and quieter the drums got. They were vaguely pulsing in the back of his mind. They were tolerable now. Thanks to the Doctor. The Doctor closed his eyes and tilted his head until his lips found the Master's. There was a moment, a brief, brief moment where the drums, and both of their hearts, skipped a beat. The Master moved his hands to the Doctor's shoulders and rested them there as their lips moved together in sync. It was natural; they had done this a thousand times before, when they were both younger. When they were Koschei and Theta. The Doctor broke away softly, trying to figure out what he wanted. The Master misinterpreted this. He grew a light shade of red and quickly pulled his hands off of the other Time-Lord. He folded them across his chest and was about to step back before the Doctor stopped him. He pulled their lips together again. The drums were so far away. The Master unfolded his arms and placed them back where they had been. Koschei was beaming, encouraging the Master. His hands moved to the Doctor's tie and began to untie it. He soon had it undone, and he put it on the back of the chair. The Doctor put his hands under the Master's shirt, pulling up the hem.

"What are we doing?" the Master asked, pulling his lips reluctantly away from the Doctor's. The Doctor took a breath. Neither of them moved.

"Do you remember when we were kids… When I would say that I loved you." The Master nodded. "It's still true," Those words made the Master blink. Did he love the Doctor? Love meant commitment, it meant honesty, it meant caring. Did he love the Doctor? The Master brought their lips back together and pulled the Doctor's jacket off. He began to unbutton the Doctor's shirt and the Doctor pulled his t-shirt over his head. The Doctor put his hands on the Master's shoulder blades and rested his forehead against the Master's. "Do you still love me?" The Master was asking himself the same question. He knew that he wanted the Doctor, but that was lust, not love.

"I don't know." he replied as honestly as he could. "If I ever did, then yes." he said, trying to keep the Doctor close to him. The Doctor sighed and smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes, because that's how I feel." The Master breathed in the smell of the Doctor, enjoying their closeness.

"The bedroom?" the Master asked, quoting his younger self. The Doctor smiled and nodded. The Master took the Doctor's hand and walked him down the hallways. He went into the first room they had used in the TARDIS, the one with the black and white bed, the room the Doctor now called his own. The Master closed the door with his foot as he pulled the Doctor into a more heated kiss. The Doctor knew that Theta and Koschei were dead, but there something left over in each of them, a spark of the love they had once felt as children.

"Koschei…" the Doctor moaned, hitching his thumbs in the Master's jeans and pulling him closer as the Master moved his head to the side so he could kiss the Doctor's neck.

"Theta." he whispered. The sound of his name sent a chilling jolt of electricity through him. He shivered. The Master smiled at his reaction. "Theta-Sigma." he whispered hotly into the Doctor's ear. The Doctor's breathing sped up, along with the beat of his hearts.

"Please say my name again." he begged the Master.

"Theta. My little Theta-Sigma," he leaned forward and whispered into the Doctor's ear. The Doctor brought his hands to the Master's face and brought it in front of him. He kissed the Master, opening his lips and dragging his tongue against the Master's teeth.

"Koschei…" he moaned as the Master led him over to the bed and manoeuvred him onto it. "Koschei… I love you." The Master didn't reply, but grappled with the Doctor's pants.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Allegro and Legato

**WARNING: Includes slash and a scary old person...**

_Love? Hate? Think something needs to be added? Let me know! (Large plot additions would be out of the question simply because this is a finished story, I am simply uploading it now.)_ _Thanks!_

The Master felt the Doctor's cold hands tracing their way across every one of his scars. They lingered on the longer, thicker ones and moved briskly across the thinner, smaller ones. The feel of the Doctor's skin against his own was glorious; it pushed the drums away. They were simply pulsing gently in an almost calming manner. He wasn't sure whether or not to tell the Doctor about it, in case his reaction would involve stopping the contact whether in surprise or joy.

"I love you." the Master said. It slipped out of his mouth from his thoughts. The words he had never said to Theta or the Doctor, the words that needed to be said the most. The Doctor's finger's stopped moving. He brought his head up and looked into the Master's brown eyes, startled.

"What?" he asked, amazed.

"I love you, Theta." he said, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I always have." The Doctor smiled and rested his head on the Master's shoulder.

"I love you, too, Kosch. So much. Ever since we were children." The Doctor continued to trace the Master's scars with his long fingers.

"Thete?" he asked, the old nickname rolling easily off of his tongue. That word had not left his mouth in over eight centuries. The Doctor lifted his head slightly.

"Yes?" he asked, sounding tired.

"Did you love me on the Valiant?" he asked. The Doctor nodded.

"I always have." he concluded. "I may have been angry at you, or sad for you, maybe pitied you, but I never hated you. And I always loved you." The Master sighed contently and leaned his head on top of the Doctor's. "May I ask you a question? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." The Master acquiesced. "How many times did you kill Jack in that year?" The Master stiffened at the question.

"You don't want to know." he promised. The Doctor waited, patiently, knowing he would either say the answer or he would pretend the question had never been asked. "At least once a day. On a good day, once. On a bad day, much more." The Doctor felt his heart go out for his former companion, now an immortal fixed point in time and space doing what he could to protect the world from the alien threats that popped up on Earth. "And I'm sorry for what I did." The apology was as abnormal as the Master saying that he loved someone. The Doctor kissed the Master.

"I forgive you. I did then and I will now." There was something that bothered the Doctor, though. He wanted to forget it, pretend that it never happened.

"Koschei, what about your wife?"

"What about yours?" he shot back out of reflex. Something about the ancient betrayal still hurt him.

"I married the Patience, yes, but I still loved you. Did you love Lucy?" The Master shook his head.

"I married her for a trophy wife. I looked like the perfect candidate for Prime Minister with her at my side. And that was what I wanted. I didn't love her." The Doctor smiled to himself. "Honest to Rassalon. You're the only person I have ever loved." The Doctor wanted to make that promise, but he couldn't. It wasn't true. "Don't feel like you need to say something to me now." he added. The Doctor laid there for a moment, beside the Master, simply enjoying the moment.

"Who brought you to the sanctuary? And how did you get out of the time lock?" The Master shook his head.

"I don't know. I know that the drums eventually got louder and louder when Rassalon had me chained to the mountain. My blood-lust built until I couldn't stand it anymore. The next thing I knew, I was on a med ship with some man standing over me and telling me that I needed to stop thrashing. I killed him. And then I started screaming about the drums. They brought me to the nearest place they could find, I suppose." The Doctor stroked the Master's arm.

"I suppose I should be angry with you…"

"Please don't be. I couldn't help it. The drums ruled me then. I had no control." That brought something to the forefront of the Doctor's mind.

"How are the drums, honestly?" The Master sighed.

"The closer I am to you, the more manageable they are." He paused. "When we were together, earlier, they were gone. Completely. Now they're just whispers in the back of mind. I can manage them now." The Doctor brought his lips to the Master's.

"If that's true, then I don't plan on leaving you alone for quite some time." The Master nodded, smiling, and wrapped his arms around his Doctor.

"Theta, I hope you mean that." The Doctor sighed at the sound of his name. It was still unusual, but in a nice way.

"I still feel like we should do something other than just lay here together. There has to be something wrong in the universe that I'm missing, some catastrophe that will destroy everything if I don't hurry…" The Master plastered his lips to the Doctor's to keep him from talking any more.

"Yes, if you don't hurry and shut up, I might have to leave you here." The Doctor sat up slowly, trying not to disturb the Master too much. The Master followed him out of the bed. The Doctor looked at the clothes on the floor. He picked up a shirt and held it out to the Master.

"This is yours." he said, smiling laughingly. The Master tossed the Doctor his pants.

"And these are yours." They laughed as they found their scattered clothes and pulled them on. The Doctor found his tie, which he had grabbed before they left the library. And held it out to the Master.

"Could you help me put this on?" he asked. The Master took it and smiled dangerously. He looped it over the Doctor's head, staring into his eyes. He pulled it gently under his collar and matched the sides up. He kissed the Doctor's jawbone and the Doctor shuddered. "I didn't ask you to distract me, I only asked you to fix my tie." The Master tied to the knot in place and then straightened the tie. He shook his head.

"I don't see why you don't want to be distracted." The Doctor placed a hand on the door knob and opened it.

"As much as I desperately want to be distracted, I can't stand being in one place for so long. Can we please go somewhere? It's up to you. You can choose whatever you want to do." The Master raised his eyebrows.

"Other than you? Not much. Where do you want to go?" The Doctor pondered that. He had a longing to see some of his companions, to check up on them, but he didn't know how most of them would react to the Master. They wouldn't be able to understand everything that they had gone through together. "Before we head out, can I please change?" The Doctor nodded, preoccupied about where he was going to take the Master. They walked to the closet, hand in hand.

"What are you looking for?" the Doctor asked, sifting through clothing.

"A suit." the Master said, looking around. "A black one. And a tie." The Doctor smiled at the thought of the Master wearing something other than a shapeless hoody and red t-shirts. He walked to the back of the closet and pulled down a suit. He handed it to the Master.

"Will this do?" he asked. The Master nodded and pulled his shirt over his head. He tossed it at the Doctor.

"Don't look." he ordered. "Unless you want to." he tacked on as an afterthought. The Doctor folded the t-shirt and looked at the Master evenly.

"I don't plan on looking away any time soon…" he said. The Master pulled off his pants and held them out to the Doctor. The Doctor began to fold those as well. The Master pulled out a white button-up shirt from the pile beside him and started to button it. The Doctor set down his load and walked over to the Master he finished buttoning the top two buttons and then he reached for the suit jacket. He pulled it onto the Master's shoulders for him. The Master raised an eyebrow at the Doctor and pulled the pants on. The Doctor buttoned them for him as well.

"Tie?" he asked. The Doctor nodded to himself and walked deeper into the labyrinth of clothing. "If you ever got lost, the first place I'll be looking is in here. Rassalon, where did you get all of this?" The Doctor shrugged.

"I pick it up… Companions leave stuff some times. Some are gifts…" The Master smirked when he found a pair of lacy underwear tossed into the corner.

"And under which category would that fit?" he asked.

"The Captain Jack category." the Doctor muttered. The Master raised his eyebrows suggestively. "No! Not! No! I meant…" He sighed frustrated as the Master tilted his head laughingly. "He occasionally would borrow the TARDIS. I didn't get it at first until I accidently walked… in on something." The Master broke out laughing. "It wasn't funny at the time." he argued, pointing to a rack of ties. The Master chose a black one and started it himself. "Wait. I have to return the favour."

"I think that you've already returned the favour. Multiple times." the Master said, watching the Doctor's deft fingers carefully. The Master looked down at himself.

"You look like Harold Saxon…" the Doctor trailed off. It was silent before the Master managed to salvage the conversation.

"Where are we going to go, Theta? I am not going to sit in this TARDIS all day in this suit. Unless you want me to…" he trailed off suggestively. The Doctor looked at him indecisively.

"May… No. We're going to go out and do something. You are not talking me out of it." The Master nodded to himself. "Although I'm more than sure that you could if you wanted to. Koschei, are you sure that you don't have a preference?" The Master continued nodding.

"As long as it doesn't involve me losing sight of you, I can live with whatever you can offer. I just don't want to have to deal with the drums more often than I already do." The Doctor nodded.

"Time? Place in the galaxy?" The Master shook his head.

"For the last time, no. I don't care where in Rassalon's name we go. Now can you please choose so we can actually do something?" The Doctor nodded and grabbed the Master's hand. The Master felt the drums soften as the Doctor's hand touched his own. It was a splendid feeling. He supressed his urge to stay on the TARDIS in the bedroom to make the drums go away again, but only for the Doctor's happiness. That was love, wasn't it? Sacrificing for the one you cared about…

"What are you thinking about?" he asked the Master who had a far-away look in his eyes. The Master came out of it and shrugged.

"Tei and Koeren." the Master said. The Doctor blinked and nodded sadly. They slowed their pace. "I was thinking about sacrifice." The Doctor's face grew darker. The Master realised his mistake quickly and pulled the Doctor into a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up." The Doctor stayed still.

"It's fine. It wasn't your fault. If it wasn't for you, I'd most likely be dead right now."

"And if it wasn't for you, I'd be in a pool. Rotting." He intentionally made his comment sound gory to try to distract him. The Doctor didn't appear to notice.

"Did you see the look on their faces? They were both prepared to die for each other." The Doctor shook his head. "And at such a young age. They both willingly gave up their futures to be with each other." The Master chuckled.

"Who does that sound like, Theta?" The Doctor looked up at him, confused. "Two young boys, giving up a future to be together?" The Doctor still didn't get it. "Rassalon, you're clueless." he said and kissed the Doctor's forehead. The Doctor thought more about it. When he understood, his eyes widened. He stared at the Master.

"Theta and Koschei died when they left each other." the Doctor whispered.

"But they were resurrected just recently." the Master said. The Doctor furrowed his brows.

"What about them, though, Tei and Koeren. They can't come back, they're dead." The Master nodded.

"I know, Theta. I know. And so are their families. That's just how it had to be. The Engelin was never going to let them both get away. It was going to be one or the other and neither could live without the other, so they died together. In each other's arms." The Doctor sighed.

"That's how I want to die." he admitted. "In your arms." The Master pulled away, even as much as he wanted the drums to be quiet, the thought concerned him.

"Don't say that." the Master rebuked gently.

"I wasn't saying that I wished to, we all have to die some time. I was just stating the way that I wanted to die."

"We're Time-Lords. We never have to die, Thete. We can live forever. You and me, traveling the galaxy together for all eternity." The Doctor laughed.

"That sounds too good to be true." the Doctor said, smiling. The Master pulled away, grudgingly and went to the control panels. "I think I have an idea about where we should go." he offered. The Master nodded dubiously.

"And where might that be?" he asked.

"Well, I found this planet, a couple decades back. I think you'll enjoy it. If nothing else, it will make you homesick." the Doctor promised. He walked to the control panel to stand next to the Master. "Pull that lever." he requested. The Master hovered his hand over one of the three levers. The Doctor nodded. The Master pulled it down as the younger Time-Lord scurried around, manipulating the controls. Soon, the TARDIS had stopped again. The Doctor walked over to the doors, followed by the Master. He covered the older Time-Lord's eyes.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Building excitement." the Doctor replied, opening the door. He led the Master out, still covering his eyes, and shut the doors behind him.

"Can I look now?" the Master asked. The Doctor led him a few steps further and took his hands away from the Master's face. The Master stared. It was brilliant. The most incredible part: the grass was bright red, the leaves of the trees were silver and the sky was brilliant orange. Two suns hung in the sky lazily above them. "Theta. This is... amazing." he softly. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"When I landed on it, I thought that I was back on Gallifrey." the Doctor said nostalgically. He looked around. It was too much. He just stood there. Remembering Gallifrey.

"Theta. Do you remember when we were kids? And we'd run around chasing each other? Under a sky like this?"

"The red grass on your father's property..." the Doctor said, remembering vividly. After a moment, he snapped back and looked to the Master. "Come on, Kosch." the Doctor called, grabbing his hand and running to a hill. Around them there was what seemed like a never ending field of red grass. "I've wanted to take you here for a long time." The Master let a small smile slip onto his face. The Doctor grinned at the Master. He looked down at the field of red. He began running down the hill, hoping the Master would follow. The Master took the cue. It was like he was a child again. He smiled and began to run after the Doctor. It didn't matter who saw. It didn't matter how silly they looked. He was with his friend. The Doctor had never stopped running for as long as he lived, ever since looking into the Untempered Schism, but this kind of running... the running he hadn't done since he was just a child... It was wonderful. The Master tried to cut him off, to catch him, but missed. He began to laugh, not sure where it came from. It was a strange sound. He dodged to the left to follow the Doctor. "Theta!" he called, laughingly. The Doctor, distracted, fell over and, laughing, slid a few feet

"Koschei!" he called out of breath from laughing and running. The Master caught up to him and sat collapsed next to him. They were both panting. Gasping for breath, he managed a laugh. "I think I've achieved my goal."

"Make me homesick? I think you've succeed." he said quickly, sucking in more air. The Doctor put his arms around his friend.

"That wasn't my goal. This was." he said, letting go of the older Time-Lord for a moment to gesture to the trampled grass behind them. The Master sighed.

"This really does look like Gallifrey. Before it fell, before it burned." The Doctor nodded.

"I know. I thought I was back home, the first time. I walked for hours, just looking around for something I recognised. Then the TARDIS reminded me that Gallifrey was gone. I don't remember what this planet is called, but…" he trailed off, staring at the sky. The two suns burned above them steadily, setting slowly. The Master laid back. The Doctor curled up next to him. The Master pulled up some of the red grass and stared at it.

"Theta, I love you." he said again. The Doctor smiled.

"I know. I think it's losing it potency when you use it so liberally." The Master scowled.

"You're just saying that. I know it's not true." The Doctor kissed the tip of the Master's nose.

"That would be correct."

They sat in silence until the suns set, inching their way down past the horizon until the light faded. Soon, the two Time-Lords were simply silhouettes in the dark grass. They had their arms wrapped around each other for hours. Neither one moved, not wanting to disrupt the other. The quiet of the night engulfed everything. It was a beautiful, peaceful silence. When more time had passed, when there was absolutely no light left, the Master got to his feet.

"We should go back to the TARDIS…" he offered. "It's dark… She might be lonely. And I'm a bit tired." The Doctor stood up reluctantly. But then his face brightened with an idea.

"Koschei, stay here." he said, pointing back to the grass. The Master sat down suspiciously in the grass and waited as the Doctor ran back up the hill they had come from hours upon hours before. He soon disappeared from sight. The Master wrapped his arms around himself as the temperature continued to drop. His suit wasn't keeping him much warmer than the sweater he normally wore would have. The Doctor soon came back, carrying a pile of blankets. The Master got to his feet and walked over to the Doctor to help. The Doctor tossed the blankets onto the ground. He began to stretch them out over the red grass. The Master got to his knees and spread them out. The Doctor put a pillow down and then joined the Master on top of the first layer. He pulled a heavy blanket over them. The Master shrugged out of his suit jacket and laid it on the ground. He rolled over to look at the Doctor.

"What are you running from?" he asked. The Doctor blinked.

"I don't know." he answered. "And I'm not sure that I want to know, to be honest." He noted that the older Time-Lord was shivering. The Doctor brought himself closer. The Master kissed his neck and rested back into the blankets.

"I'm going to sleep now." he announced. The Doctor chuckled and watched as the Master closed his eyes.

"Go to sleep, Koschei," he encouraged.

_The Master spun around. He was somewhere he had been before, very recently. It was a ship. A ship that smelled heavily of death and humans. He walked down the dimly lit hallway, barely able to make out the shapes around him. He looked at a med bay. There was something eerily familiar. When he placed what it was, he walked around the room, making sure. Yes. This was room he'd woken up in after he had gotten off of Gallifrey. He heard a deep breath behind him. The Master slowly looked behind him. There was a short man, about five inches shorter than the Master was, smiling. It was not a reassuring smile. It contained a terrible, thinly veiled malice._

_ "Your drums, Lord Master." he said, smiling. "We need them. And we will take them from you." He held his hands out toward the Master's head. The Master jerked away. _

_ "Don't touch me." he commanded._

_ "But my Lord Master, haven't you always begged for them to go away? I can make that happened. All we need is for you to let us touch you." The Master dodged to the side of the smaller man and ran out of the room. He ran as fast as he could, pushing air deeply into his lungs. He ran into a wall. He pushed himself off of it and turned a corner. _

_ "Master." a little girl said from behind him. She was holding a hand out. "I need your drums. Please. Listen." He shook his head and began to run again. An elderly woman rounded another corner. She had her wrinkled hand held out._

_ "Master!" she begged. The Master tried to run away further, but found himself cornered. He looked back at the humans approaching him._

_ "Master. Drums." They moaned together. He held his hands out in front of himself to try to keep them away. _

_ "What are you?" he demanded, looking wildly for another way out. "Get back humans!" he yelled ferociously._

_ "But we're not humans." the little girl said, looking slightly confused. _

_ "Yes. You are. You smell like them. You look like them. You act like them. You are them!" he argued. "Doctor!" he yelled. Maybe there would be another way to get out. _

_ "We are Time-Lords. We are the last of the Time-Lords." the little girl said, tilting her head to the side. The Master stared in horror as they all produced small watches on chains from somewhere on their attire. He shook his head._

_ "No! No!"_

_ "We escaped the Time War. We were a small colony. And now they're calling. Don't you want Gallifrey back? Gallifrey in all her glory?" the shorter man asked. "All we need," he pointed at the Master, "is you." They edged closer._

_ "Doctor!" he shouted again. "Gallifrey is back!" _

_ "Koschei," the Doctor's voice said calmly. "It's just a dream_…. It's just a dream." The Master heard as he opened his eyes. He was covered in a cold sweat. The Doctor was leaning above him, looking very concerned.

"Doctor." he said, breathing heavily. "Something is wrong." he said, assuredly. The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"What did you see? What was it?" The Master furrowed his eyebrows and frowned.

"I… I can't remember." The Doctor pushed the blankets off of himself and to his knees.

"You said something about Gallifrey being back? Was that what your dream was about?" The Master thought deeply, but his memories were too vague. He pulled the Doctor's forehead to his own and poured what he remembered of the dream into the other Time-Lord's mind. The Doctor pulled away and stared at the Master. "Something is very, very wrong." he said, getting to his feet. He held a hand out for the Master, who got up unsteadily on his own. He grabbed a pile of the blankets and ignored the cool wind gusting around him. The Doctor grabbed what was left on the ground, including the Master's jacket, and they headed up the hill to the TARDIS.

"Is that something… based on fact?" the Master wondered to himself. "Because if those were Gallifreyans, why did they leave me at the sanctuary?" The Doctor shook his head, thinking. He put the TARDIS key into the lock and opened the door. Both put their loads down on the ground by the control panel.

"Well, there's only one person that we can really go to to get answers about that, I believe." The Master waited for an explanation, because he didn't understand what the Doctor was saying. "Rosealyen will know who brought you. She can answer a few of our questions, at least." The Master still looked confused. "Your nurse…"

"I can't remember anything other than trying to hang myself." he admitted slowly, as though it wasn't very important. The Doctor pretended to ignore the statement.

"So, to Rhi, then. Do you know what year you were there?" he asked the Master, who shrugged. He walked over to his suit jacket and pulled it over his shoulders. "Sweetie, please take us to the right time." the Doctor asked and flipped several buttons up and down. The machine groaned as it began to travel through time and space. There was a rattling when it stopped roughly. The Doctor took the Master's hand and walked out into the desert ahead of them. It was night there, as well. And just as cool, if not colder than the planet they had been on before. The smell of the landscape brought back memories that he had tried to forget about his time at the sanctuary. The Doctor walked around, trying to remember where Mesae had led him, but there was nothing to guide him other than dunes that had surely shifted since they had last been there. "Mesae?" he called. "Rosealyen?" There was no sound. The Doctor moved to the south, trying to pinpoint where he had been led those weeks before. The Master stepped on the ground and listened carefully to the sound.

"Doctor, it's hollow here." he offered. The Doctor bent down and brushed sand away. Below the Master's feet was cement. He brushed more away with his hands. Soon the Master joined him. Something disturbed him. It was the blackened sand and the small holes that spread their way across the cement. He brushed some more sand away and found that there was a hole about the size of his head. He put his face down to it, to try to look into the area beneath the ground. There seemed to be nothing there, but darkness. "Hello?" he offered. There was only silence to greet him. "Something is very wrong." he said, more to himself. The Doctor shushed him. "Did you just shush me?" he demanded. The Doctor nodded furiously and put a hand over the Master's mouth. The Master bore the indignantly for a moment before he licked the hand over his lips. The Doctor glared at him and shook his head. The Master listened carefully. He could have sworn that he heard voices, but they were coming from the north, not from underneath them. The Doctor released the other Time-Lord, pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and got to his feet. The Master followed suit. He wished he had something with him to deal with the threat, but there was no chance that the Doctor would arm him after his recent brushes with death.

"Hello?" the Doctor called. A shout drifted over the dunes. He looked around, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. He walked toward the sound, near where the TARDIS was. The Master stopped when he nudged something under the sand he bent to pick it up. It was a small, improvised bomb. It was crudely made out of metal and plastic with some rope bindings. The Master gently set it back on the ground and moved away from it.

"What is going on?" the Master asked, looking around.

"Whatever it is, I don't like. Something happened here. Something violent." They heard more yells coming from near where they had left the TARDIS. The two Time-Lords hurried over to see a small group of people around the Doctor's machine. "Is Rosealyen here?" he asked. A blonde rushed forward. She looked at the Doctor hopefully and ran over to him.

"Doctor, it really is you. Thank the gods." She pulled him into a hug and stepped back. Her white dress was ragged and blood-stained. Her hair was tangled and knotted hastily behind her head. Mesae walked over cautiously.

"What happened here?" the Master asked, looking at the people wearing white around the TARDIS. There were a few that weren't and he assumed that those were some of the patients that had been staying at the sanctuary.

"They came." Mesae whispered, looking intently at the Master. "They wanted you." She grasped the paper in her hand tightly. "They wanted you." she repeated. Rosealyen grabbed her sister's shoulder and pulled her toward her gently.

"We don't know that," the older one rebuked gently.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked, repeating the Master.

"A group of people came here and demanded to see him," she motioned to the Master, "but we told them that he had already left with the Doctor. One of the people that came was the one that brought Mr. Harold here." The Master cut in.

"My name is the Master. Not… Mr. Harold." Rosealyen nodded softly and returned to what she was saying.

"They got angry. They bombed us. We tried to fight back, but we obviously don't keep very many weapons in a sanctuary. Many of us escaped and are using a temporary facility until we can transport visitors back to their homes. Until then, they are safe." Mesae was still staring at the Master.

"What do you want?" he demanded harshly. The Doctor shot him a warning glance.

"When they asked for you, they were thinking of that beat. That beat in your head that never goes away. The one that follows you. They only got mad when we told them that you were with the Doctor." Rosealyen tried to quiet her sister, but the young girl continued. "So why is it that these people want to kill us? We didn't do anything to them." The Doctor got on his knees and put his hands on her shoulders.

"I wish I knew." he whispered to her.

"They killed my mum." she said into his ear, not letting anyone else hear. "And my dad. And my brother. Why?" The Doctor's expression grew harder as he drew his face away from hers. She was not crying, but her eyes were glassy and reflective. The Doctor looked to Rosealyen , who was staring at the two of them.

"Rosealyen, I think that the Master and I are going to need your help." Rosealyen nodded.

"Whatever you think will help, I am more than willing to do." Mesae grabbed onto her half-sister's skirt as soon as the Doctor backed up. He looked at the people by the TARDIS. They were staring at him, but they were not accusative looks. The nurse turned around to look at the others.

"Iru, please take Mesae back to the current shelter. I'm going to be with the Doctor and Mr. Ha…. the Master for a while." A young man reached out his hand for the little girl to take, but she shook her head and ran over to the Master. She grabbed onto his waist and hugged it tightly. The Master looked extremely uncomfortable and tried to pull her hands off of him, but she refused to let go.

"You can't leave me here alone!" she cried. Rosealyen sighed and looked at the Doctor.

"If she wants to come, I suppose the TARDIS can keep her busy until we figure out what our plan is." The young man stepped back and looked at the nurse.

"Rosea, be careful. We will await your return." he said. She nodded to him, smiling.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." The Doctor walked to the TARDIS and opened her again. The Master began to inch inside, the young girl still clinging to him. The Doctor got in. Rosealyen was still in the sand, saying her goodbyes to the others in the group. "May peace guide you!" she offered them. A chorus of echoes followed her as she shut the TARDIS doors gently. Her smile froze as she turned around. She looked at the inside, mouth agape. "It's… bigger on the inside." she said, in awe. Mesae didn't seem to notice, she was much too busy fighting against the Master trying to pull her away. The Doctor smiled at the sight.

"Remove her." he growled to the nurse. She smiled and began to tickle her younger sister, who in return released the Master quickly. The Doctor's look of bemusement turned to serious thought. He stared at the Master.

"What do we know?" he asked. "In your dream, it seemed as though they were Time-Lords who had used fob watches to become human, only they somehow retained their Time-Lord memories. Not too difficult, but unusual enough. But what do we know for sure?"

"One of them is dead. I killed him." the Master said, thinking aloud. "And that they have quite a few resources. And they don't like you. They want me and my drums. Anything I'm missing?" Mesae nodded.

"They knew your names." she said. Both of the Time-Lords looked at her, astonished. "They thought of you as the Master and of you as the Doctor. They knew that those were not your real names, though. They didn't mention what the other names might have been." Rosealyen looked at her younger half-sister appraisingly.

"Also," she added quickly, "they all bore this strange mark on their hands that looked like a circle with lines through it." The Master and the Doctor exchanged a glance.

"Gallifreyan writing on their hands." the Master said. "That strengthens the case that my dream was at least partially true." The Doctor nodded.

"That was what I was afraid of." Mesae began to walk around the control panel curiously. She touched a button experimentally.

"Mesae! Be careful! We don't know how sensitive the TARDIS is." The young girl continued to leave her hand where it was. She had a faraway look in her eyes. Rosealyen ripped the younger girl's hand away from the sentient machine. The young girl looked knowingly at the two Time-Lords and then at her older half-sister.

"I'm sorry." she muttered to the ground and tried to hide the hand sneaking behind her back to connect with the TARDIS again. The Doctor began tapping his fingers on the control panel, thinking.

"Where do we start?" he asked himself. "Who do we ask about time itself? Someone who understands the past, present, and future…"

"Sounds like you're asking for another Time-Lord." the Master said, smiling.

"Well…" he said, sounding frustrated. "We need someone independent to try to help us figure this out. The TARDIS is obvious to any Time-Lords that may be looking for us and they will want to steal her. I can't risk that." The Master leaned against the railing. Rosealyen grabbed both of Mesae's hands softly and set them by her side. She then removed her hands and began braiding the little girl's hair, thinking deeply.

"It sounds like you need a vortex manipulator." she offered. The Master jumped to his feet.

"Tosset!" he yelled, much too loudly. "Hasani said that Tosset had a vortex manipulator when they met you the first time, yes?" The Doctor's eyes lit up as he shook his head at himself.

"For someone with nine hundred years of experience, I tend to miss a lot of things." he pointed out. The Master shrugged.

"Old age does that to you. So, are we going to just steal it or add another person to this group?" The Doctor looked at the little girl.

"I know that if we simply ask for it, Hasani will want to know why. If we lie, she'll know. And if we tell the truth, she'll want to come along. Either way, she's going to fight tooth and nail to do something other than sit in Egypt. And we need Tosset's manipulator. I know he won't part with it easily. Particularly if Hasani makes it clear that she wants to go with us." The Master chuckled.

"We've already got a menagerie. It can't really be that bad to have a couple Egyptians walking around. Your TARDIS can hold more than just six people." The Doctor looked between the people on his TARDIS. He held a hand out to Mesae. She took it and he began to lead her through the TARDIS. This left the Master staring awkwardly at Rosealyen.

"I see that you've changed." she said, smiling. He nodded stiffly. "You always thought that you needed your Doctor to make you better."

"You shouldn't have been in my head." he grumbled and ran a hand through his blonde hair. She smiled apologetically.

"It's my job, Master. Have you harmed yourself recently?" He shook his head, blatantly ignoring the gaping wound on his arm and the fact that he had tried to drown himself just days before. "Very good." she said, praising him. He hated her tone. It made him feel like a small dog that had just done a trick. He stared at the state of her clothes.

"Whose blood?" he asked.

"Too many people to count," she said, sadly. He looked away. "What did the Doctor do to help you?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Nothing." he said, gruffly. "I chose to stop it." She obviously didn't believe what he was saying, so she didn't press the subject.

"I guess that you've had plenty of time to recuperate." she said with a shrug.

"Huh?" the Master asked, trying to understand what she was saying.

"I mean, it's been nearly a year since you left…" The Master understood and nodded.

"Actually, it's been a week or two." Rosealyen looked amazed and very confused. "This is a time machine as well as a spaceship of sorts. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space is its name. She's a TARDIS." Rosealyen nodded and smoothed her dress out slightly. She looked at the blankets on the floor.

"What happened there?" she asked.

"Camping trip." the Master replied, a little too quickly. The nurse didn't catch his swiftness. She walked over and sat on top of the pile.

"Do you mind?" she asked.

"It's not my TARDIS…" he said with a shrug. "And the Doctor wouldn't mind you sitting on ou- his sheets. It won't kill him or anything." She smiled at shook some hair out of her face that had fallen from the knot. "What did your sister say to the Doctor? To make him let you two come along?" Rosealyen paused, a distant look in her face. She stood up and walked over to the Master.

"Probably something about our mum. And her dad." She brought her hand to the Master's forehead, but he fought against it.

"Get away from me. I'm not letting you anywhere near my mind." he grabbed her wrists and pushed them down to her sides. She responded by putting his forehead against her own. The Master's hands let go of her and his body sagged backwards. She listened to his guarded thoughts for a moment until she moved. Now she was standing further away, her fingers on the Master's temples. The Doctor came back into his control room to see the Master limp against the control panel while Rosealyen had his head in her hands. He walked over to distract her. It worked well enough. She released the Master from her mind reading and looked up at the younger Time-Lord, startled.

"You… Did he tried to kill himself again…" The Doctor nodded grimly.

"There is a reason that he doesn't like you in his mind. Not only is it invasive and uncomfortable, but you learn more than you should." She listened to his cold tone in shock. She pulled away and watched as the Doctor shook the older Time-Lord slightly. The Master came to gently. He shot a glare to the nurse.

"You." he said, glaring at her. "If you value your head on your shoulders, don't you ever do that again." The Doctor physically restrained the Master who was now an unhealthy shade of red as his anger rose. "No one needs to know what I'm thinking. And least of anybody would be you." he snarled. The Doctor leaned close to the Master's ear, trying to calm him.

"Koschei." he called, moving his hands from the Master's hands to his shoulders. The Master frowned and pulled away.

"Sorry." he muttered to no one in particular and stormed into hallway. The Doctor looked after him, debating whether or not to go after him. He knew that following the Master meant wasting time. He had already wasted enough and now he needed to figure out what was going on. He needed to see Hasani and Tosset.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Ungodly

**Warning: Contains slash and some ungodly behaviour on Hasani's part.**

_Look at me! I'm a target (for ideas)! Shoot some my way and I'll see if I can work them in! (Or possibly use them in the sequel I'm currently writing.)_

Hasani pulled the wires carefully across her machine. She gently blew some grains of sand out of the machinery and stared at her creation proudly. She placed the cover back on the back of it and glanced up its smooth lengths. There was something fascinating about the macabre to her. There always had been. The jolts of adrenaline were running through her; breaking laws had always given her such an ungodly high. Something so… dangerous. It was tantalizing. She gently pushed her braided and beaded hair away from her eyes as she dragged her hand down the cold metal. There were the sounds of someone entering the tent. She swiftly threw a white sheet over the tiny contraption and walked over the cell replicator that had been fixed recently. The man who came down scowled at her.

"Hasani. The Pharaoh wants progress. He will have no use for you if you do nothing for his great empire." he said in Egyptian.

"Screw yourself." she said in English, but backtracked. "Pardon." she begged, now switching awkwardly into the language of Egypt. "I have had much work to do with these newcomers. I shall proceed with my work as soon as I can." The man shot her a look of distain before walking out of the tent. She adjusted her leopard-skin covering and walked back over to her newest project. The Pharaoh wanted progress? She could easily demonstrate her power with this small metallic box. It looked so harmless. She picked it up, enjoying the surge of dark excitement flooding through her. The Time-Lords thought themselves great to be able to influence pasts, but in her sunburnt, sweaty palms she held the true power. The power to influence the future of one who had lost theirs. She giggled like a young school girl at the prospect of such power, such a thing in her hands. She tucked it under her arm and walked out of the tent. She refrained from glancing around in tell-tale sign on nervousness. She smiled as the machine weighed her down. The adrenaline coursed through her veins. She looked frantic as heat and energy poured through her body. She walked past some Egyptians who gave her a slight nod of their heads. Tosset saw her and walked over. He looked at the box under her arm and smiled.

"You've finished?" he asked, grinning madly. She nodded.

"Of course I have. I am going to test it now." she said, sweeping her gaze over the camp. Tosset put an arm over her shoulders and kissed her.

"You are brilliant." he said into her hair. She pulled away and sped up her pace. Tosset took the lead as he looked for the burial grounds that lay somewhere off of the side of the camp. She began shaking in anticipation. It looked as though she were shivering. Tosset guided her to a mound of dead bodies. She got to her knees and set the box on the ground. She began playing with the instruments on it. Tosset picked a body out and held it up. Its head rolled loosely on its neck.

"Are you ready?" she asked, still shaking. Her fingers were moving up and down on a dial feverishly. He nodded and held the body ahead of the machine. She laughed as she pushed a small, blue button and turned a knob as far as it would go. A bright green light shot out and engulfed Tosset and the body he was holding. It was blinding, but Hasani could not stop staring. There was something unearthly about its alien glow. Her eyes widened as the light began to fade and she heard moaning. She jumped to her feet and looked at Tosset, who had fallen to the ground. The slave's body began to twitch. She bent down beside her husband and took his pulse. There was nothing. Frantically, she rushed over to what used to be a corpse. It was breathing. She looked between the two. Swiftly, she walked back over to the machine and hit the controls again. Her eyes darted between the two on the ground. The bright light shown around them again, but this time Hasani ducked her head into her shoulder. When it faded for the second time, she ran over to her husband and took his pulse. There was blood pumping from his heart. She walked over to the corpse and felt for breath or a heart-beat. Neither seemed to be in the corpse. She looked back to her husband. He was sitting up, rubbing his forehead.

"So to bring someone back, you have to have equal life to take away?" Hasani picked her machine up and nodded. Tosset got to his feet. "Is there a way to fix that?" Hasani shook her head.

"I spent years building this. It would take even longer to attempt to fix that. And I don't know if it's even possible."

"Perhaps it is a law of the universe." Tosset offered, brushing himself off. Hasani put a warm hand on the sun-heated skin of his chest and kissed his cheek.

"I will break all laws of the universe to get what I want." she promised. He chuckled.

"I know." he said, pushing the corpse back into the pile with his sandaled feet. Hasani pushed her hair back and sighed. "We need to hide this until we can figure out…" he stopped when he hear a familiar voice.

"Hasani? Tosset?" the Doctor called. He looked around the tents, not seeing the couple. He glanced to the side and saw a large stack of bodies. Beside them were Hasani and Tosset. He walked over. "This is going to sound…" When he saw the small box at her side, that she was trying to hide, he raised his eyebrows. "I thought that you couldn't fix the replicator. But you obviously built that…" She gave a cautious glance to Tosset. "What is that?" he asked.

"It's nothing, Doctor. What do you want?" he asked. The Doctor didn't believe him, but moved the conversation onward, staring at the machine.

"I need your vortex manipulator." he said. "We've come into some… problems… and we need to make sure that we can travel without attracting the attention of people who know what my TARDIS looks like." The Doctor didn't stop looking at the box. "And honestly, Tosset, what is that thing?" he asked, knowing that he was more likely to get a real answer out of the man than the woman who obviously created it.

"Doctor, it doesn't pertain to you." Hasani hissed. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and waved it at the box. He studied the feedback. His eyes widened.

"Put that down, Hasani." he ordered. "Put that down." She shook her head.

"No, Doctor. I can save my family with this. And I will do whatever it takes." she said adamantly. The Doctor took a step closer.

"Please give it to me."

"Have you ever wondered why I was so excited to go to Ancient Egypt?" The Doctor took another step closer to her, but she took a step back in response. "Because these pyramids will act like a giant energy source, triangulating immeasurable energy throughout the whole of time and space. It cannot be reversed now. And that energy will power my machine. And I will bring my family back." Tosset put an arm over her shoulders protectively. The Doctor looked over his shoulder to see Rosealyen walking toward them, curiously. She obviously noted the defensive and offensive posturing they were sharing. She walked next to the Doctor. The Doctor stepped back and put a hand out to stop the nurse.

"Rosealyen, get back to the TARDIS." he ordered gently. Hasani stared at the woman dressed in blood-stained white.

"Doctor." Tosset said darkly. "Leave." The Doctor pretended to look surprised.

"But to bring people back to life, you need to have a body. So don't you need a time machine to get to your family, Hasani?" Hasani scowled.

"What does it matter, Doctor?" she hissed, her hand hovering on her invention zealously.

"You want your family back, but they've been dead far too long for you to be able to use their bodies to bring them back, correct?" Rosealyen looked between the couple and the Doctor.

"What are you saying, Doctor?" Tosset asked, suspiciously.

"You let me have your vortex manipulator and you help me figure out what is going on. Then I'll…" he paused. This was breaking so many of his rules, but he couldn't risk the Time-Lords coming back and destroying the universe. This was the only non-violent answer. "I'll let you resurrect your family when we're done." Hasani's eyes lit up and she turned to Tosset.

"Tosset," she said, meaningfully. He nodded slowly.

"We will hold you to that promise." he said. The Doctor nodded. Hasani stepped forward and Tosset took his arm off of her. "I'll go get it." he said and walked away swiftly. Hasani looked at the young woman behind the Doctor.

"Is this a new companion?" she asked. The Doctor shook his head.

"This is Rosealyen. She is travelling with me for the time being until we figure out who destroyed her sanctuary." Hasani looked the blonde up and down. She flicked he beaded braids out of her face and held a hand out. Rosealyen's cool touch met Hasani's feverish skin roughly. Rosealyen felt all of Hasani's thoughts rush into her head. The woman jerked her hand away and looked at the nurse accusatively.

"You're psychic! The Doctor set you up to this." she snarled. The Doctor wondered what had caused such a drastic change in Hasani's personality. In the short time he'd known her, this seemed very out of the ordinary. The Rhian stepped back, eyes wide.

"No, no! I just—" her voice trailed down to a whisper as the shorter woman's presence overwhelmed her.

"There was a time when your companions had some backbone." she said, swiftly, returning her burning gaze to the Doctor. He blinked.

"Rosealyen, go back to the TARDIS. I will bring them back. Go check on the Master and Mesae." Rosealyen began to leave, but stopped when Hasani caught her gaze.

"Yes, go back to the Doctor's dog. See if he's still starving. See if he's trying to kill himself again. The irritation on his stab wound was consistent with chlorine. I'm sure he was swimming for fun, wasn't he, Doctor? The Master just wants to die. Is that too much to give him? He seems like—" the Doctor cut her off.

"Stop it!" he yelled loudly. Tosset walked over, carrying the small device on a wrist-strap. He glared at the Doctor, who was towering over his wife menacingly. "You do not know what you're talking about."

"He tried to kill himself again." the young nurse said, gently, remembering the Master's vague memory of trying to commit suicide again. The Doctor nodded curtly, since she already knew that much, so he thought. Tosset held out the vortex manipulator to the Time-Lord who grabbed it. He began to walk back to the TARDIS. He held a hand out to Rosealyen, who accepted it, trying to avoid the looks of the man and woman behind her. "What did he do?" she whispered.

_He tried to drown himself._ The Doctor admitted. She left her hand where it was, listening to the memories he allowed to pour into her mind. She stiffened slightly at the sight of the Master in the pool, unmoving.

"I'm sorry." she said, feeling the emotions that had been coursing through him. The Doctor quickly cut it off seconds before he remembered himself remember a much young Koschei and the times they had shared as children. He nodded as they approached the blue phonebox. The Doctor opened the door and let Rosealyen go in first. Then he went in. He held the doors open for Hasani and Tosset. The Master stood by the console, his hands in front of his.

"The vortex manipulator." he said the Doctor. The Doctor tossed it to him, surprised when it slipped through the Master's fingers. The Master picked it up swiftly and paused. "Hello, Hasani, Tosset." he said, evenly. The looks on their faces betrayed their anger and discomfort. "What's that?" he asked, pointing a long finger at the box under her arm.

"Listen, Time-Lord," she said, drawing herself up to her full height. "I'm not in the mood to play games. This can raise the dead. All I want to do is see my family again. Then I'm leaving all of you." The Master nodded.

"Point taken. Now listen, human, you're going to abide by my rules while you're here. And one of those happens to be, the Doctor and I control this TARDIS and you'll treat us like we are, in control. Understood?" There was an air of something dangerous coming from him. It was enough to make Hasani nodded softly. The Doctor walked over to the Master.

"Don't do that. She has had a tough life." he whispered into the Master's ear. The Master sneered.

"I'm sure that we have had it worse off than she has." The Doctor didn't respond. He started the TARDIS to let her drift until they determined what they were going to do. There was a rumble beneath them and then calm again. The Master froze and closed his eyes. "Theta." he said, swiftly, not remembering that no one else knew the Doctor's name in the room. The Doctor whipped around and looked at the other Time-Lord.

"What?" he asked, concerned. The Master's eyes snapped open.

"They're gone. The drums. Completely." The Doctor nodded, cautiously. "As soon as we left Egypt…" The Doctor turned to Hasani.

"What did you say about the pyramids?" She shrugged and handed the box to Tosset.

"I convinced the Pharaoh to build them on ley lines. They began collecting energy as soon as the foundations were laid. And I placed them so they would transmit their energy into parts of the past that remained unaffected by Time-Slips and all over space." The Doctor stared at her.

"What are Time-Slips?" he asked.

"Interferences in futures, pasts, or presents. So all of your time-line will remain unaffected. And most people's lives." The Master stood up straight. He looked at the Doctor. He took the Doctor by the wrist and pulled him away from the others. He dragged him into the hallway, out of sight of the other current occupants of the TARDIS and kissed the Doctor. He put his hands on the Doctor's neck and brushed his lips against the Doctor's one more time.

"They're gone." he whispered giddily. "For the first time…" The pure joy in his voice was shocking. The Doctor had never heard that tone before. He kissed the Master back gently, still too preoccupied as to what the changing of the past on Hasani's part meant.

"Koschei, I am so glad for you." he murmured, still distracted. Rosealyen walked down the hallway to avoid having to make contact with the couple when she stopped in her tracks. She saw the Doctor up against the wall as the Master snogged him. She stepped back.

"Sorry." she said, quickly, and walked back to the control room, blushing fiercely. Then again, she knew that the Master loved the Doctor. She had known since the first time she had entered his mind in the sanctuary. It had been buried for so long and yet it was very important to the Master during his stay at the sanctuary. The Master stopped and took a breath.

"Doctor…" he paused. "we need to get back." The Doctor nodded. The Master walked back to the control room, smiling widely. The Doctor followed, frowning. He turned to Hasani, who was whispering low and fast to her husband. He was nodding. He turned to the Doctor.

"Do you have a place where we could sleep? Hasani and I have not slept for days." The Doctor nodded.

"Master, can you find them a room?" The Master nodded, still grinning. Rosealyen watched him lead the couple away.

"Your name is Theta?" she asked, intrigued. The Doctor nodded. "So you love him back, then?" she asked. The Doctor nodded again. "You really were all that he thought about when I was looking after him. There was nothing else that held his attention as long as you did. He seems to be much better than before. You really were what he needed, after all."

"He needed more than me. With your help and that of Mesae, I found him. That was all that he really needed, to know that there were people willing to help him." It was untrue, but the Doctor didn't mind lying to make Rosealyen feel good about her work. "He has always needed people to be there for him, since they often weren't."

"I'm just glad that you showed up for him. He may not look very healthy, but it's much better than when he looked when he left us. He actually looks like a person now." The Doctor smiled at that remark.

"Don't let him hear you say that." he warned teasingly.

"I wouldn't dream of it." she promised. She shuffled her red and white boots on the ground, watching them intently. "Do you think that my sister is safe here?" she asked. "Not that I don't trust you!" she paused. What did she know about the Doctor, other than the mixed messages she received from the Master's mind… No. She did trust him. She knew enough to trust him. She was sure of that.

"Yes. No one can get into the TARDIS without the key, which I have. And it's very rare when I misplace it. And if someone were to come in, it wouldn't be too bad at all. The TARDIS is a smart girl. She'll keep your sister safe. I promise." She smiled.

"Thank you." The more she thought about her sister, the more concerned she began getting. It was irrational, but now the young girl was entering a world that neither of the girls knew anything about. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Doctor, where is Mesae?" she asked. The Doctor motioned over his shoulder to the hallway with his head.

"She fell asleep." he said. She nodded to herself.

"I'm going to join her. I promise that I'll do anything you need me to, tomorrow." The Doctor gave her a small smile.

"Thank you for your help, Rosealyen. It means a lot to me." She beamed and walked down the hallway.

"Good night, Doctor." she called. There was the sound of a thud and quick apologies. Rosealyen continued down the hallway as the Master came out to the control room. His grin had faded slightly, but the ghost of it still danced on his face. He walked over to the younger Time-Lord quickly and brought him up against the TARDIS walls. He kissed him deeply.

"My Doctor. My Theta. My Theta-Sigma." The Doctor brought his hands to the Master's hair and knotted his fingers where they were. He breathed the Master's breath, enjoying the feel of other Time-Lord encompassing him. The Master pulled his face away from the Doctor's and began to kiss the younger Time-Lord's neck. He brushed his teeth against the Doctor's jugular vein, causing the other Time-Lord to shiver.

"Koschei." he whispered softly, moving his hands to push off the Master's jacket. The Master allowed the movement. As soon as the jacket was off, he moved his hands to the tie he had helped put on the Master much earlier that morning. The Master chuckled, resting his head on the Doctor's shoulders.

"You always were in a hurry, weren't you, Theta?" The Doctor nodded as the Master pinned his hands against the wall. He tried to move, but the Master held him there, staring at him. "Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked. "We have all night…"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Hark the Herald, Engelin Sing

**WARNING: Contains slash and violence... I think there's violence. Oh well. If there's not.. I lied.**

_And now we get to go back to everyone's favourite Doctor Who villain(s)!_

The Doctor woke next to the Master, who had his arm draped over the younger Time-Lord's chest. He craned his neck and kissed the Master's forehead. The Master mumbled something inaudible. The Doctor didn't understand it, but didn't care very much. He rubbed his hand down the Master's arm slowly. The Master shuddered and his eyes opened slowly. He took a deep breath of the Doctor's scent and brought his face up towards the Doctor's, his nose brushing the other Time-Lord's jawbone.

"Theta." he said, sleep weighing heavily on his voice. "What are we going to do?" he asked. The Doctor nuzzled his nose into the Master's hair.

"Did you dream again? I felt you moving last night…" The Master nodded.

"They wanted my drums again. They said that we would never be able to stop them. They…" he stopped. "They killed you." The admission caught in his throat. He was still tired and the raw pain of thinking the Doctor was lost still weighed heavily inside of his hearts. There was silence in his head, as well. An unfamiliar, outlandish silence. It was no longer the drums that were chasing him, but this silence. His mind began to flip through the thoughts in a dream-like fashion.

"I promise that I will fix this." the Doctor said. He gently disentangled himself from the Master's hold and got out of the bed. "The others will be waking up soon, the TARDIS warned me. I don't think that you want them to see us leaving this room wearing the same clothes as last night, leaving the same room…" The Master blinked and nodded. He shook his head slightly to wake himself up. He shoved the blankets off of himself suddenly, allowing the cool air around him to jolt him into a more conscious state. The Doctor looked at the Master's clothes, momentarily considering switching who wore what, but decided against it. His better judgement told him not to draw more attention to the two of them from the other passengers of the TARDIS. The Master noticed the Doctor's gaze.

"If you really want to wear my clothes…" he trailed off, smirking. The Doctor shook his head at the older Time-Lord gently.

"Shut up and get dressed, Koschei. I need to make them breakfast." The Master chuckled as he drew on his pants. He buttoned up his white shirt and tied his tie. He grabbed the jacket, but did not put it on. He decided to wait until they needed to get off of the TARDIS before he put on something as constricting as the jacket. The Doctor didn't seem to think the same way. He pulled on his brown suit jacket and smiled at the Master. "Will you help me with the breakfast?" The Master pretended to weigh his options.

"Only if you give me something in return for all the efforts I will be putting in…" The Doctor nodded, not too concerned about what deal the Master would attempt to strike. The Master gave the Doctor a sweet, swift kiss and pulled away. "I'll help." he said, opening the door to the hallway. The Doctor smiled at the other Time-Lord and put an arm around his waist.

"Then come with me to the kitchen and we'll see what we can make." The Master desperately wanted to make a perverted euphemism out of what the Doctor said until he remembered that Mesae was on the ship. And who knew if she could hear though her walls. _Then again_, the Master argued to himself, _she would have already heard us last night…_ In the end, he managed to hold his tongue long enough that it didn't matter anymore. He followed the Doctor into the kitchen. It seemed like years ago that he had had the Doctor on his knees, begging for him to eat. Something yearned for that power, but he held it in submission. He would prove that he could control the one thing in the universe that refused to be controlled at all times- he would force himself into submission. He would make his former self a martyr. He received no thrill for this vice-like grip on his past, but it was what had to be done to keep the Doctor happy. And all he wanted was for the Doctor to be happy. Nothing more mattered to him other than finding what these others wanted with him. Other than that, his mind was devoid of other considerations to others.

"Doctor, you begged." he said, softly. The Doctor looked up from the fridge he had been pawing through.

"Yes?" he asked. He had begged the Master to do things so many times that it was hard to tell what moment the Master was trying to pin-point.

"On your knees, you begged for me to eat, those weeks ago." The Doctor monitored the distant look on the face of his lover. He knew what the Master wanted. And he was willing to give it to him. He put a tube of croissant bread on the counter beside the fridge and walked over to the Master. He slowly got to his knees and looked at the Master. The Master gave him a small, sad smile.

"What else do you want?" he asked, knowing he had only a few minutes before everyone else in the TARDIS tumbled out of their bedrooms hungry and ready for a new day. The Master sighed and put a hand in the Doctor's hair. He ruffled it, similar to what he had done the last time the Doctor had been on his knees, only this time it was gentler and more affectionate. The Master got on his knees so that he and the Doctor were level.

"I want you. But I can't have you right now…" He mentally cursed the fact that they were monitoring the other people on the TARDIS and had a job to do. The Doctor kissed him teasingly and rose to his feet.

"I promise that as soon as I fulfil my last promise, we will have all the time in the world." He held the Master rise up as well, grinning. The Master held out a hand towards the Doctor's hair and brushed it down. It was sticking up in all manners possible. "Thanks." he said and returned his attention to the bready mess in front of him. The Master opened a few cupboards, looking for a pan to put them on. After searching for a moment, he found one and handed it to the Doctor.

"Anything else?" he asked. The Doctor shook his head as he began to roll the bready mess into the shape of croissants. He put them on the metal tray and opened an oven. He put them in and clicked a timer on above it. He chose the temperature and turned to the Master.

"Do you know how to make scrambled eggs?" the Doctor asked. The Master shrugged. Surely it wasn't too hard. The Doctor pulled eggs out of the fridge and grabbed a pan and a bowl from above his head. He handed them to the Master, who grabbed a whisk that was in a ceramic container to his left. The Doctor went to his pantry and pulled out some bananas. The Master rolled his eyes as the Doctor began to set up a buffet. As distracted as the two of them were about their futures, there was something comforting about the silence of being together with no one else around. The Master cracked an egg on the side of the bowl, like he had seen Lucy do all those years ago. He tried to remember exactly what she had done. He set the egg shell on the counter and began to whisk the white and yellow goo in the bowl. He repeated this a few times. Then he turned the stove on and put the pan on the heat. He then poured the eggs in and moved it around with the whisk carefully, to make sure that it didn't slosh out onto the stove and make more of a mess than he already had. The Doctor looked over his shoulder.

"Rassalon, you can't cook." he said, shaking his head. The Master scowled and flecked some of the raw egg that was lingering on his fingers at the Doctor's face. The Doctor pretended to look upset and indignant as he dragged the back of his hand over his face to get rid of the raw protein on him.

"Rassalon, you're inconsiderate." the Master said, imitating the Doctor's voice well. The Doctor grabbed the Master's hand around the whisk.

"Watch yourself, Koschei. Or you may find this," he moved the Master's hand around in the hardening eggy mixture, "all over yourself." There was the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was Tosset. Behind him was Hasani. Both were staring at the two Time-Lords.

"You never said that you were involved with your dog…" she said, smiling teasingly. This expression was very different from the day before. So different, in fact, that the Master could hardly believe that this was the same woman that seemed to hate them so vehemently the day before. The Doctor stepped back, trying to figure out whether to tease her or not.

"Sometimes it's nice to be with someone who's a little animalistic…" the Doctor teased. The Master ignored the comment and worked hard to keep the eggs from burning. Hasani smiled and walked over.

"So what's for breakfast?" she asked. The Doctor pointed to the table in the corner. "Bananas?" she demanded. The Doctor nodded.

"And croissants. And the eggs. If the Master ever finishes with them." The Master looked at the thickened consistency of the yellow in the pan in front of him and held it out at the Doctor.

"If you don't like how I'm cooking, you do it yourself." he said, grumpily. The Doctor looked at the eggs and nodded his approval.

"Apparently you CAN cook." he said, sounding amazed. He grabbed a large plate and took the handle of the pan from the Master. He dumped them on the plate and put them on the table. "Take whatever you want."

"And what if I don't want any of it?" Hasani asked, smirking.

"Then don't complain and go hungry." Tosset offered, taking a plate of the eggs. His wife stared at him and followed his lead. The Master looked at the Doctor, who was staring at the entrance to the kitchen. In the doorway stood the small figure of Mesae.

"Is it breakfast?" she asked. The Doctor nodded.

"Just help yourself to whatever you want." She looked blearily over at the table and then at the Doctor and the Master.

"Rosea is still sleeping. She hasn't slept since Mum died." The Master handed a plate to the Doctor who in turn handed it to the young girl. She took it in her hands and looked at the table. She grabbed a banana and a small spoonful of egg. She sat on the floor roughly and struggled to peel the banana. Hasani noticed and held a hand out.

"I can help you open that." she offered. The girl handed her the yellow fruit and Hasani peeled it and gave it back.

"Thank you." she said. The Doctor walked over and sat on the floor beside her. The Master walked out, planning on taking a shower before everyone was done eating and they had to figure out the next step in their plans. "Hello, Doctor." she said and took a bite of the fruit. The Doctor smiled at her.

"How are you doing?" he asked. She brought her gaze to the floor uncomfortably and shrugged. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked. She shook her head gently and looked at the tiles below her feet. "I don't believe that." he said, softly. She brought a hand to his arm and let tried to open his mind to hers slightly. He pulled away. Hasani watched closely as the two stared at each other. The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder and then stood up. He walked over to the oven and check on his breads. It was awkwardly silent until Rosealyen walked in. She was smiling widely as she walked over to the food. She took some eggs and a fork. She began to eat, still smiling.

"Doctor, you can cook!" she exclaimed playfully. He nodded and pointed to the oven.

"I can, but I didn't cook that. The Master tried his hand at it. You seem to think that he did rather well." She nodded and took another bite. Then she walked over to her sister and sat on the floor beside her. They touched hands for a moment and then both pulled away. Rosealyen smile dropped. The timer went off, causing the humans, and Rhians, in the room to jump slightly. He turned around, turned it off, and pulled the pan out of the oven. "Anyone?" he asked. Everyone got up and walked over to the oven. The Doctor served them the croissants. They sat back where they had been.

"Do what's going on, Doctor?" Tosset asked once he had finished everything on his plate. The Doctor looked towards the kitchen entrance.

"When the Master comes back, we can talk more about it, but I can give you the basics." Mesae set her plate beside her and looked intently at the Doctor. "So, we're… Time-Lords, yes?" Everyone one in the kitchen nodded and looked as though their intelligence had just been insulted. "Okay, so, our entire race is gone from existence, in a time lock. But they've tried to come back before using the Master's drums to connect themselves to the real world, the world outside of their time lock. Something has been following us." he said ominously. Hasani rolled her eyes.

"So they're other Time-Lords?" Rosealyen asked.

"Yes and no. We think that they used to be Time-Lords who used a device called a fob watch to turn themselves to humans. We don't know much right now, except that they want the Master, they were the ones that left him at your sanctuary," he moved his gaze to the nurse and her sister, "and that they're looking for us." Tosset sat back, thinking.

"So why did you want my vortex manipulator?" he asked.

"Because these Time-Lords could tell a TARDIS a mile away—" he was cut off by Hasani.

"Why are they human in the first place?" she asked.

"Because the Time-Lock was only on Gallifrey and the Time-Lords in their natural state. There must have been a colony somewhere of humanised Time-Lords and when Gallifrey fell, they must have devised a plan to bring it back." The Master walked in, now wearing a black, button- up shirt and jeans. He shook his wet hair around a little and interjected.

"Using my drums, which they put there in the first place." he said, walking over to the bushel of bananas and taking one. "They created this monster and then they exile it and now they want it back again. The irony is almost painful." he said, peeling the banana. The Doctor nodded softly.

"So you can't use your TARDIS because they will recognise it. So you're going to use my vortex manipulator." The Doctor nodded. "Well, excuse me if this is a dumb comment, but you need the coordinates to know where to go somewhere. Unless you're going to try every possible location…" the Doctor paused. That was the fault in his plan. He needed to know where they were, and he didn't.

"Couldn't you get them to make contact…?" The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not inviting any contact with them from this TARDIS. They know too much about its design. If they knew where we were, they could cause the TARDIS to malfunction and they could get her to bring us straight to them. Then we'd be in huge trouble." The Master walked over and stood beside the Doctor.

"Is there any connections that we can use?" Hasani asked.

"Non-traceable ones?" Rosealyen added. "Even if they're just connections through a third party?" The Doctor looked to the Master.

"If we had connections on Gallifrey, which is impossible, they might know where the ship is." The Master nodded to himself, trying to figure out a link.

"Why is it impossible?" Tosset asked, standing up and putting his plate in the sink. He began to scrub it with some hand soap and his hands.

"Because nothing can get in or out of the time lock." the Master said. "Well, nothing other than a white point star, but that was sheer luck that I found it. It also helped that there were six billion of me to look for it…" The Doctor didn't look impressed, but everyone else did.

"What?" Mesae asked, intrigued.

"I transplanted myself and replaced every human on Earth with myself." The Doctor looked impatient.

"Let's move back to the topic on hand." he offered. There was a small moment of silence that was broken when Hasani and Tosset started to speak at the same time.

"What if we managed to find an ally in...?"

"Could it be in a coded message…?"

"What about telepathic?" Rosealyen offered. "Some connections can still be communicated through, even when there is an unusual phenomenon in place." The Master frowned in thought.

"There are some telepathic links into Gallifrey, but… none of them would be for allies. The only people monitoring them would be our enemies." The Master shook his head.

"No." he said, still thinking. "There is a connection to Gallifrey… Remember, the Weeping Angels. On Gallifrey. They were prisoners for their crimes. The Lord President would never say that they did, but he called it their ultimate shame." The Doctor nodded, eyes widening.

"And they all communicate telepathically. They have no allegiances to the Time-Lords…" The Master nodded.

"And we know someone who has a connection to the Lonely Assassins." The Doctor froze. The Engelin. He wanted nothing to do with her, not after what she had done. Rosealyen noticed the change in the Doctor's expression. She curiously looked the Master, assuming that he would understand what was going on. "Doctor?" he asked. "We have to do this. We don't have a choice. I need to figure out why they want my drums." The Doctor nodded slowly. He looked at the Master long and hard, trying to determine what he should do.

"They're not coming." he said, still to the Master. Hasani grew indignant.

"Excuse me. We're right here." she said hotly. Tosset put a hand on her shoulder to keep her quiet. The Doctor acted as though he hadn't heard her.

"We don't know what she will do to them." he said cautiously. The Master nodded slowly, but then changed his mind and shook his head.

"There is safety in numbers. And we weren't hostile to her, so she has no reason not hear us out." The Doctor shook his head.

"We can't trust that nothing bad will happen to them and I don't want to risk it."

"If anything goes wrong, we can just run back to the TARDIS. Look, Doctor." He wanted to say the Doctor's name terribly, but he knew that the Doctor didn't want the others to know it. "This is the only way we can figure out where that ship is." The Doctor sighed and looked at the other people in the room.

"Master, I'm going to set the coordinates. You warn them." He walked out quickly. Hasani looked even more indignant, but continued to hold her tongue when she saw the look on the Master's face.

"So then, what's the big deal with this 'Weeping Angels'?" she asked, holding back her sarcastic and insulted comments. The Master looked to Rosealyen and Tosset, who seemed just as interested. Mesae was still staring at the floor.

"They're statues." he began to say. Hasani cocked an eyebrow and sat back in her chair. He caught the look and hurried his explanation to avoid a sarcastic interruption. "But only when you're staring at them. When you're not looking, they're faster than anything you could ever imagine. They will kill you." he promised.

"So what do we do to fight against them?" The Master shook his head.

"_You_ can't kill one. So if they attack, you'll have to just stare at them until the Doctor and I have what we need." There was a rumbling under their feet and then silence. The TARDIS had landed.

"So why are you so concerned now?" Rosealyen asked, standing up.

"Because when we came here, the Lonely Assassins had killed a whole town. There were only two boys left and even though the Doctor thought that he could protect them and talk the Weeping Angels out of attacking, they killed them." Tosset got to his feet, as well. Rosealyen walked over to the Master and held her hand out. He rolled his eyes and nodded. She brought the hand to his forehead.

Soon she was sifting through his recent memories. The Master shoved her to the event with the Engelin. She watched the whole event in super speed, and as soon as the two boys were decapitated she wrenched her hand away. She stared at the Master. He ignored the look and walked to the exit.

"We've landed." he said. Tosset held a hand out to Hasani, who used it to stand up. Mesae shot to her feet and walked out quickly behind the Master. He led the group to the control room where the Doctor was leaning against the panel. He saw them and straightened his back. He walked to the doors. The Master gently pushed him aside and went out first. There was something about knowing the Doctor's pain that made him want to keep the Doctor on the TARDIS, but he knew the Doctor would never listen. So the best he could do was to delay him even if just for a moment. He looked around. They were in the middle of the town, instead of on the hill beside where they had landed the first time. There was no movement around them. The others piled out of the TARDIS and looked around. They felt the eerie sensation crawling on their skin, the sensation of death and being completely alone.

"Eashi?" the Doctor called softly, almost haggardly. There was the sound of flapping wings from behind the TARDIS. The Doctor ran to the doors and shut them quickly. He locked his time machine and slipped the key to the Master quickly. Mesae walked to the back of the TARDIS. She was staring at a tall statue. She took a step back, eyes wide. She willed herself not to blink.

"R-Rosea!" she called. Her half-sister ran over and saw the statue.

"Doctor, is this a problem?" she asked, tilting her head backward, but not looking away from statue. The Doctor walked over and sighed.

"No. We're only here to talk with their chosen child. We're not threats." Rosealyen nodded, but pulled Mesae behind the safety of the Doctor. The Master began walking toward the church where they had last seen the Engelin.

"Engelin!" he yelled, sounding slightly annoyed. "Tell your guards to back off. We've got a little kid with us who's scared out of her wits." The Master turned around and noticed a change in the Angel's positions. They were backing up. "Thanks." he grumbled softly. He assumed that he had said it quietly enough that no one could hear him.

"You are welcome." The sightless Engelin said, coming out of a building. Everyone's attention was on the slight woman dressed in tattered cloth. She took a small step forward. "What do you need?" she asked, gently. She let her hands wander outward as she tried to figure out where she was.

"We came to ask a favour of you." the Doctor said, stepping forward. She heard the movement and brought her face towards him. She bowed her head slightly.

"Yes. I could imagine as much. What do you need me to do?" she asked, sounding strangely willing to help. The Master didn't trust her.

"Keep your guards away from us." he growled softly. She inclined her head.

"I already have. Is that all you came to ask of me? That seems to be a bit paradoxical." Hasani began to chuckle at the woman's dry sense of humour, but stopped when she remembered what this woman had done.

"That's not what we came to ask you for." the Doctor said, stepping into the conversation. "We came to ask you to use your link to find out where a ship is located in the universe." She tilted her head to the side, looking intrigued. She nodded slowly.

"Then, Lord Doctor, I have one thing to ask of you." The sound of his title disturbed him. It was something he hadn't heard in a very long time. It was jarring to be heard coming from the mouth of someone who harboured such dark feelings of hatred. She was so similar to the Time-Lords that it hurt. The Doctor remembered his past briefly. During that time, the older Time-Lord knew the familiar look of distance fading slowly across the Doctor's face. He stepped into the negotiations.

"What do you want, Engelin?" She smiled widely.

"Two things now."

"What two things do you want?" Rosealyen asked, taking a step closer to the Engelin who was standing frigidly still.

"I want the Lord Master to call me by name, Eashi. And I want the Lord Doctor to take me off of this planet." The Doctor snapped out of his reverie when he heard the unfamiliar title pop up again.

"Fine, Eashi." he muttered. He turned to the younger Time-Lord. The Doctor began to nod slowly.

"I am willing to make that deal." The Engelin smiled and took a step towards the Rhians.

"I am connected to them." she said, her posture straightening and her muscles obviously straining. "Where should I contact?"

"The Weeping Angels on Gallifrey. Rassalon is holding them there, as I understand." Eashi paused. The silence thickened as it blanketed the whole area. Seconds ticked by and Hasani began to look nervous she tapped her fingers together rapidly, glancing between the two Time-Lords and the Engelin. Rosealyen walked over to the Engelin and gently brought a hand to her forehead. Suddenly, Rosealyen took a similar position of being painfully erect as well. They both seemed to be in a trance. Tosset looked to the Doctor.

"Should we do something?" he asked tensely. The Doctor frowned and shook his head.

"They're reopening ancient connections to a place that technically doesn't exist. This may take a while." Mesae looked at her sister and then at the Master. She walked over to him and grabbed the hand that had been hanging loosely at his side. He felt the touch and startled. She looked up at him and then back at her sister. He looked to the Doctor, unsure of what to do with the young girl who was clinging to him. Awkwardly, he patted her head. She leaned her head against his side, watching the two still figures in front of them.

"Is Rosea okay?" she asked. The Doctor nodded, not wanting to tell the young girl that he honestly had no idea how well the girl's only surviving relative was doing. Hasani and Tosset moved forward, so they were only a few steps behind the two Time-Lords and the young Rhian. Hasani smiled when she saw the little girl adhering tightly to the older Time-Lord, who looked incredibly uncomfortable. There was as twitch in Rosealyen's arm that caught everyone's attention. It seemed like she was trying to pull her hand away, but it didn't look like she was succeeding. The Doctor debated removing her arm for her, but knew how jolting the sudden loss of a mental connection could be. In fact, it could even be damaging. He didn't want to risk that. He would wait to see how this situation played out. Finally, Rosealyen collapsed to her feet after wrenching her hand from the face of the Engelin.

"16366387502843." the Engelin said quickly. The Doctor furrowed his brows.

"What?" he asked.

"Their location. 16366387502843. That's where they're located. And they're stationary." Mesae let go of the Master's hand. He looked relieved. She dropped to her knees beside her half-sister. Rosealyen looked up at the Doctor with ghosts haunting her eyes

"They…. They've kept them there for centuries. Just left them there. In the dark." The Doctor nodded, imagining that Rassalon could have done much worse if he had thought about it and tried. "All those Time-Lords…" She brought her tortured gaze to the Master. Her breathing slowed down slowly. Tosset walked over and helped her to her feet. The Doctor looked at the Engelin.

"What were the numbers?" he asked.

"16366387502843." she repeated again in monotone. She walked to the left, bumping into Mesae. "Apologies." she said, softly. Rosealyen walked to the Engelin and put a hand on her shoulders. The Engelin stiffened. She had not been touched in the longest time.

"Eashi, I can guide you." The Engelin nodded vaguely, head wobbling slightly. The nurse smiled and began to lead the blind woman to the TARDIS. The Weeping Angels were watching them from the tops of the buildings and they all had their hands down, away from their faces, staring after their charge.

"They will take care of me." she promised them and she stepped into the TARDIS. She believed what she said. At least, she hoped that she believed it.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: The White Veil of Innocence

**WARNING: Includes... slash. And a scary, giant closet of doom. Fear it.**

_Hello! I am writing a sequel to TBoGC and I need plot ideas! If anyone has any ideas to toss my way, I'll gladly accept them!_

_And I'm sorry if the last few chapters have been a let-down, but I wrote this in nine days and did very little editing to keep it the way I wrote it before I posted this... Hope it's getting better!_

The Doctor sat across from the Master, watching his eyes flit across the page he was reading.

"The ship they're travelling on, it's of Gallifreyan make." he offered. The Doctor already knew that. He had the TARDIS tracking the movement of the only ship that had been in the lonely, deserted district of 16366387502843. She had fed the Doctor all of the information she could collect from it without being noticed. The Master looked up at the Doctor. "You're not listening, are you?" he asked. The Doctor smiled.

"It's hard to concentrate with a billion things knocking around in my head." The door opened abruptly and Tosset came in. He looked behind him and then at the two Time-Lords.

"All of us are wondering- you have a large ship, yes?" The Master smirked evilly. The Doctor just nodded, suppressing laughter. "So do you have… any clothes we could borrow?" The Doctor noted Tosset's half-naked state. He was wearing what the Egyptian men normally wore, only a simple, long white skirt. And he had been wearing it since they had picked him up. He jumped to his feet and nodded. He walked out the door. The Master didn't follow, his attention dragged forcefully back to the book he was reading. He wanted to learn more about the ship they were about to enter. He felt the pit of anxiety weighing down his hearts. The Time-Lords didn't care about him or the Doctor. They simply wanted to use them for their own means. They were ruthless and, most of them, bordered on being psychopathic. He flipped through the pictures as the Doctor left him. Tosset, Hasani, Rosealyen, Mesae, and Eashi were all standing beside the door frame. He looked at the state of their clothing. Hasani was still dressed in the ceremonial leopard skins, Tosset was still in his skirt, Rosealyen was still covered in blood and sand, as was Mesae. Out of all of them, though, Eashi looked the worst. Her hair was stuck in mats around her head, its colour was indiscernible. Her skin was covered in scratches, cuts, and dried blood that looked like it had been covering her for much more than a few days. Her clothes were tattered and just as filthy as the rest of her. The Doctor nodded again and began down the hallway.

"You'll have to excuse the state of my closet. It may be a little bit cluttered. And you may have to dig your way through it to find anything you want to wear. There's quite a bit of junk in there." Mesae smiled.

"Rosea, you'll have to wear one of the Doctor's suits." Rosealyen smiled at her sister, but then gave a concerned glanced to the Doctor.

"I promise you won't. I've got different things that you can see if they fit you. Like I said, I have a lot of stuff in there. I'm sure that you'll find something." Hasani pulled a finger across the furs she was wearing.

"I'm going to want these back." she said, mostly to herself. "And I'm sure that Tosset will want me to keep it as well." The Doctor rolled his eyes at them and opened a door. He motioned inwards.

"This would be the closet. Feel free to look around and find something that you want." Rosealyen led the group in, holding Mesae's hand. She looked in awe at the giant arrays of clothing around her. The more that she looked around, the more impressed she was with the Doctor and his TARDIS. Mesae found a long, white shirt and held it up to her small, slim body. Rosealyen snatched it away and looked for something that looked to be the young girl's size. There didn't seem to be anything, but she needed to be out of the clothes she was wearing. Rosealyen held up a pink top that was several sizes too big.

"How about this?" she asked. The girl shook her head.

"It has to be white." she insisted. It had to be the colours required by the nursing administration. The older girl understood and put the shirt carefully back where she found it without any further questioning. She walked around until she found a small, white shirt. It had half-sleeves and looked to be a very modern style. The older girl held it out to the younger one for inspection. Mesae nodded and took it carefully. While she put the shirt on, Rosealyen looked for pants for her younger half-sister. She stumbled upon a white skirt that was also very small. She walked back to her sister and dropped it off with her. She then went in search for something she could wear to replace her soiled, disgusting dress. She noticed a large rack of dresses, wonder why the Doctor had all this woman's clothes. Then again, he was a Time-Lord and had all of time to collect these. Who knows how he got them, though. She searched through them. There was a bright yellow sundress that looked similar to the dress she had been, wearing, but she had to agree with Mesae, wearing white was what they were supposed to do. It was the only rule the nurses had to abide by that had to do with dress-codes- they had to wear the identifiable colour. No one but the nurses and the nurses-in-training were supposed to wear the pale shade. She moved to the next set of clothes. A large, long scarf fell off of a rack. She gently placed it back from where she assumed it fell and went about, looking for clothes. Soon, she reached an area that seemed to be exclusively for much older clothes. She walked though, intrigued. Then, something caught her eye. It was a white dress with thin straps. It had blue embroidery around the edges of the hems. She picked it up off the rack. It was only the smallest bit too large for her, but she didn't care. She peeled off her old clothes and put on the new dress. She kicked off her boots and looked around for suitable shoes. She picked up her dirty clothes carefully, trying not to get the grime on her new dress. She ran into Hasani, who was holding up a black button-up shirt. She smiled at the nurse and looked at the dress.

"That looks nice on you." she said. Rosealyen grinned at her.

"Thank you." she said, twisting some of the loose cloth in her hands. It was a nice, thin fabric that fitted across her body well.

"No problem. Hey, will you hold this for me?" she asked, holding up a black leather jacket. Rosealyen nodded. She took it as Hasani pulled the strap of the furs off of her shoulder shamelessly. Rosealyen turned away quickly, trying not to blush too furiously. There was something very different about how this woman acted. She was cocky, self-assured, confident. There was the sound of rustling fabric for a minute or so as Hasani tucked on the new clothes. Rosealyen looked around for someone around to figure out exactly where she was, but remained careful not to look over her shoulder far enough to see the older woman changing. "You can turn around now." she offered. Rosealyen looked twisted back to her original position to see the petite woman looking totally different. Her form was now obvious under the clothes. She was wearing the black shirt and equally dark pants. Her hair looked strangely out of place with its many braids with beads on the end and her modern clothes. Rosealyen handed her the jacket. She put it on and smiled when she looked down at herself. She was wearing brown men's work boots on her feet. Rosealyen noticed this. After Hasani picked her sandals and leopard furs off of the ground, Rosealyen jumped on her opportunity.

"Where did you get the shoes?" Hasani bit back a joke about now having bought them herself, but imagined that the nurse might not appreciate it. She jerked her thumb to her left.

"I'll show you." she offered, starting down the maze of clothing after a few seconds, they ran into the Doctor and Eashi, She was fumbling with a button on the shirt the Doctor was trying to help her into with his eyes closed. "Doctor!" She roared with laughter. "I thought that you—" She was cut off as the Doctor spluttered.

"I—She… You…" Hasani walked over to him and spun him around roughly.

"Go teach your dog some new tricks. We'll get her dressed." The Doctor walked out, blushing furiously. Rosealyen looked at the clothes the blind woman was wearing and shook her head. She gently pressed her forehead to the Engelin's and projected the picture she saw. The Engelin shook her head, disconnecting the two.

"Is there anything better? The Doctor picked this out and he obviously has no idea how to wear anything other than suits." Hasani laughed and looked around. She saw a tank-top in the Engelin's size. It was a royal, deep purple. She walked over to Eashi and unbuttoned the shirt that was Doctor had tried to put on her. Rosealyen went around, trying to find something for her to wear over it. She soon stumbled on a white jacket. She picked it up and smiled when she saw a pair of thick-soled work-boots. They were two sizes too big, but she didn't care, they had a familiar feel to them. She walked back to the other two women, thinking about Mesae. They finished dressing the Engelin. Rosealyen repeated the process of giving the woman the mental image of herself. She nodded. "Thank you." she said. Hasani found herself staring at the empty eye sockets sitting unnervingly on the Engelin's face.

"What happened?" she asked. The Englin brought her face to the side.

"I was kidnapped and sold as a slave. The townspeople who bought me didn't like my behaviour, so they carved my eyes out." she said, simply. She tried to walk away from the conversation, but did not succeed. Rosealyen rushed over to help her before she tripped and fell. Hasani looked around.

"Tosset! You dress slower than a girl. Get your lazy arse out here, so we can all go on a grand adventure." There was laughter nearby.

"I was trying to help the young Rhian find some new shoes. Pardon me." he called from nearby. Soon he appeared out of the forest of clothing, Mesae following him closely. She gave a nervous look to the Engelin, the Weeping Angels and the thoughts of two dead boys still freshly seared into her mind. Not that she had witnessed the murder through thoughts like her sister had, but the imprint that the idea left was memorable at least. Hasani shook her head at him.

"Maybe we should have had kids. You always act like you want them." He shrugged and helped lead the group out of the closet. They all walked to the control room of the TARDIS to find the Master and the Doctor debating loudly.

"We are not risking my TARDIS." the Doctor said, firmly.

"I never said we had to. I'm saying that we need to make sure that we have an escape route if something does go wrong or something happens to the vortex manipulator. Maybe if we had the TARDIS nearby, we wouldn't have to…"

"I'm not risking my TARDIS." the Doctor said, finality rang in his tone. The Master got to his feet and then jabbed a finger in the direction of the group.

"But you'll risk their safety?" he demanded.

"Their safety is already at risk. And only a few of them will be with us anyway, Master. Not all of them are going to be with us." Mesae walked over to both of them and shook her head. She tugged on the Master's right sleeve and the Doctor's left sleeve.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?" Hasani asked, giving them an awkward smile. The Master nodded and the Doctor just sighed. She seemed to be interested in the answer, but then her eyes lit up as she remembered something and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She wanted to hear the explanation for what they were going to be doing.

"Yes, we should. I had a plan, but the Master doesn't like it and wants to put my TARDIS in harm's way. Which I won't allow. Not now, not ever." Tosset nodded.

"Okay. Point taken. Anything else we should know? Like, the original plan, perhaps? The one that the Master doesn't like." The Doctor nodded.

"I was planning on using the vortex manipulator to bring those of us going to the ship to the ship."

"Yes, but that thing is not even remotely safe! Just use the TARDIS and lock it. No one wants to risk being lost in time and space with that thing." Hasani chuckled, as she came running at full-speed back in with her small silver box under one arm.

"If you two are done bickering like an old, married couple. I'm going to say that I don't particularly mind the bumpy ride that will come with Tosset's vortex manipulator. And I guess that we really don't want these other… Time-Lord-human-things to get their hands on your TARDIS, Doctor." He gave her a grateful smile. Tosset nodded in agreement with his wife's plan. Rosealyen nodded as well.

"No harm should come to the TARDIS." she said. The Master scowled.

"So who's got the vortex manipulator?" he asked, annoyed. The Doctor pulled it out of his pants-pocket and handed it to Tosset.

"I can give you the ship's coordinates." the Doctor said.

"Who's going and who's staying?" Rosealyen asked. The Doctor looked at the large group of people congregated near him.

"Mesae needs to stay here. And Eashi has already upheld her part of the promise and there won't be much else she can do for us, so she can stay and watch Mesae." Mesae looked back the Engelin, slightly concerned.

"Doctor, I can help!" she offered, too quickly. Rosealyen put a hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Mesae, listen to him. He knows what he's doing." The young girl submitted and bowed her head, shuffling her feet. Tosset fiddled with the wrist strap, waiting for instructions. The Doctor noticed and walked over to the TARDIS control panel. He looked at a small screen that had a pulsating red dot on it. It didn't seem to be moving. Tosset walked behind the Doctor and punched the coordinates into his vortex manipulator.

"Everyone, hang onto Tosset. And don't let go until we're there." The Doctor said. Tosset soon found himself being clung onto by four people. Hasani had one of her hands around his waist, her face in his, but the other was holding the box against her side, the Doctor had a hold of Tosset's arm, Rosealyen had the other. The Master looked at the mess of people and scowled. That meant that he had had to wrap his hands behind Tosset. With a disgusted noise, she did so.

"I love you, Mesae." Rosealyen said with a smile.

"Three," Tosset began the count-down. Everyone tightened their grip on him. "Two." The Doctor looked at Mesae and nodded to her. "One." He pressed a button. And they were gone.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: The Architect, the Fallen, and the Creator

They were in a small, cold, metal room, all clinging to Tosset. They slowly removed their bodies from him. Rosealyen wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Hasani noticed and shrugged out of her leather jacket. She handed it to the girl, who reluctantly accepted it. The Doctor looked at Tosset, who was scowling.

"I am going to be covered in bruises." he complained softly.

"Oh quit whining, it could be worse. There could have been more of us." Hasani said, smiling at him playfully. The Doctor looked at the Master, who was looking very unamused.

"We should be moving." he said, noticing that his breath was visible in the cold. Tosset pocketed the vortex manipulator and looked around. There was a door on the far right side of the room that was slightly ajar. The Doctor took the lead and walked over to the door, trying to keep as quiet as he could. He didn't know if they were armed and, if they were, how heavily armed they were, so it gave him reason to be cautious. He opened the door silently and glanced down the hallways. There was nothing that he could see, other than empty metallic hallways, nothing wandering around waiting for them. He stepped into the hallway and looked at some of the doors.

"Open the doors; see if you find them. If you do, get my attention." The Master's dirty look became more pronounced as the Doctor didn't recommend calling out for him to help out. The others nodded and walked down the metal ways as quietly as they could. They began opening doors, but most of them were empty or filled with useless junk. Nothing seemed to be particularly interesting. Until the Master heard a soft whirring noise. It was coming from behind a door similar to all of the others. He forced his numbing hands to open the door. He stared in awe of what was in front of him. It was a beautiful, giant machine. There were clinging gears and the soft whirring of an engine flitting through the room. He walked over to it, amazed at the piece of technology. There was something attractive about its complexity. There were a hundred different lights glowing and different dials were staying mostly still. There was laughter from behind the Master. He spun around to see the young girl from his nightmares standing behind him, clapping her hands.

"Doctor!" he called loudly. She shook her head and stopped moving her hands.

"Oh, come now Lord Master, surely you can deal with a small, young, helpless girl all on your own." she said, menacingly.

"You're a Time-Lord, you're also a freak, so I think it's okay to call for a friend."

"A friend?" she asked, delicately. "You and the Doctor are friends now? How absolutely terrible." she said, pouting. "I hate it when I don't get my way." She took a step closer to the Master and he took a step forward as well, knowing full well that she expected him to fight back. "I suppose that you are anything but normal. You managed to kill the Guide in less than three minutes after waking up." The Master glowered.

"How did you get me off of Gallifrey?" he asked. She simply smiled bright her and got even closer.

"Your drums, Lord Master. They are powerful. We caught their presence coming from where Galllifrey used to be. We managed to harness an infinite power with the machine behind you. The Architect created it. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Pure Gallifreyan technology…" The Master caught sight of the Doctor creeping up slowly behind the young girl. He saw the Master and then the girl. He was planning on interrupting until he heard words like 'Gallifreyan technology' and 'infinite power.' He stepped to the side of the doorframe and listened carefully. The Master made sure not to look over her shoulder too much in case she thought that he had seen someone out there.

"So why do you want infinite power, anyway?" he asked, putting a hand on the machine behind him softly. It felt so good to feel the touch of Gallifrey again. There was something calming about it.

"Lord Master, you are much dumber than what the other Time-Lords credit you with being." The Master snarled. "What in the universe would we do with infinite power?" The Doctor understood. And froze. He took a deep breath,

"So why did you tear up that sanctuary looking for me? Don't tell me that you wanted to rub this in my face that badly." She shook her head, looking sad. She took a sad step to the side and began stroke the machine.

"We just want to go home, Lord Master. It's all we want. And to bring her back, to bring back Gallifrey in all her brilliance, her splendour, we need you. We need access to your drums. Please, just let us harness them and you can go back home with the highest honours a Time-Lord can have. You can have a new TARDIS, estates, the Doctor and all your enemies will be brought to you in chains and you can do whatever you wish with them. Think of the magnificence! You, the Master of all." The Master chuckled, his frown twisting into a dangerous smile. He grabbed her hand that was on the machine and twisted it behind her back.

"But you see, what's powering this machine?" he asked. "Not my drums, because I'm not letting you have them." The girl struggled. "If you tell me, I promise I'll let you go." the Master said, hitting her with the full impact of his hypnosis-like talent. She nodded dreamily.

"Of course! The Triangle Source." The Master looked confused.

"What's that?" he asked.

"The Triangle source was created by a woman in Egypt that sits on ley lines that collect energy and send them out into time and space. We used some power to go back in time and kill the woman's family so she would, in the future, build this energy source to fuel a device to bring the dead back. We had it all planned out. And the energy being produced should also silence the drums, leaving them ready to be taken…" she trailed off as the effects of the hypnosis began wearing off. She began writhing again.

"Let go of me!" she screamed wildly. The Doctor rushed in and looked at the girl who was being held in front of the Master in a painful, unrelenting grip. The Doctor walked over to her and put a hand over her mouth, trying not to attract too much attention.

"Fallen?" an old woman called. "Fallen? Was that you?" She looked in the open door to see the Master and the Doctor trying to hold the girl still. The Master ripped his hands off of her and ran out of the room with the machine. He did not want to be forced to let them try to find his drums again. They were no longer there and he never wanted them back. The Doctor joined him and, even though the elderly woman tried to stop him, he managed to tear past her in time. They turned a corner to see Rosealyen talking to Hasani. They saw the panic on the faces of the Time-Lords and looked behind them to see that they were being chanced by a girl of about ten and an elderly woman who was very agile for her seeming age. Hasani's eyes widened as she took a closer look at the people and did a double-take. Her cheeks flushed and she began to tremble. As they tried to run by, she stuck a foot out to trip the elderly woman, her teeth bared.

"I know you." she hissed through her teeth. Tosset had heard the chaos and come running from the other side of the hall. He turned a corner to see Rosealyen standing behind his wife, who was towering over a woman on the ground and a girl was laughing beside the woman.

"I recognise you!" the Fallen, the girl, cried laughingly. "You were the little girl! The creator of the Triangle Source!" Hasani kept a tight grip on her box and shoved the girl into the wall with the other.

"What's going on?" Rosealyen asked desperately, trying to pull Hasani back. The Master's eyes widened.

"They killed her family." he said softly. The Doctor remembered the machine the woman still had in her hands.

"No violence!" he yelled. There was a silence as the final occupant of the ship entered. He was much shorter than the Doctor and a bit taller than Hasani. He looked at the scene with grizzled features twitching.

"Architect!" the young girl cried as the old woman struggled to her feet. Hasani whipped around, looking at the old man. Fury that had been building in her expression exploded.

"YOU!" she screamed. Throwing herself at him. He stayed very still. Rosealyen looked at the Fallen, who was trying to get away and grabbed her, knocking her out with a forceful psychic push. The girl hit the floor loudly. At the same time, the Master wrenched the elderly woman's hands behind her back, like he had done with the Fallen. The Doctor rushed forward, but was held back by Tosset. "YOU PULLED THE TRIGGER!" She had a light of insanity flash though her eyes. He nodded calmly.

"I did what I had to." he said evenly and calmly, igniting her animosity further. Suddenly, her anger glazed over by something, hope. She turned her head to the side. The Doctor knew that look all too well. The Master had often given that look; back when the drums were still tormenting him. And the look never boded well for the person receiving it.

"Let me go!" he yelled to Tosset, who calmly shook his head.

"She needs this."

"What does she need? Murder?" the Doctor demanded.

"Closure." Tosset argued, beginning to bruise the Time-Lord's wrist with his unrelenting grasp. Hasani stepped back from the man and shook her head.

"You see, I've spent all my life trying to bring them back. And now here you are, the man who shot my mother, my brother, my sister, and my child." This news startled the Doctor. They all knew her as a 'young girl' when the Time-Lords talked about Hasani and her invention of the Triangle Source, so how young had she really been? "You are weapon-less." She laughed and held her box out in front of him.

"You are foolish to think that that will hurt me. It's a resurrection machine." he said, sounding smug. She snarled, laughing.

"Something malfunctioned. It trades a life for a life. And I wonder what happens when I," she turned a dial dramatically, "do this." She pressed a button and the whole room lit up with a blinding light. The elderly woman screamed. The light faded, leaving splotches in everyone's eyes. Hasani looked at the floor in front of her. The man was lying still. She bent down, cautiously. She felt for his pulse and began chuckling to herself. She stood up. The Doctor scrabbled at Tosset.

"Master! Rosealyen! Stop her!" The Master was too busy trying to hold the woman and Rosealyen looked indecisive. She understood what Hasani felt. She wanted to kill one these Time-Lords, too, desperately. They destroyed her home and torn her family apart only because they wanted a single man. She didn't move to help anyone. Hasani looked at the Master.

"Step back if you want to live." she ordered. He took one look at her face and its seriousness and stepped away from the old woman, who was looking around in a panic. The Master stepped to the side quickly and ran for Hasani, but she had already hit the button. A second wave of blinding white filled their eyes. This time, it was more painful. The Doctor opened his burning eyes to see the other Time-Lord on the ground. The Master pulled himself off of the floor, ignoring the banging in his head. With one hand in his hair, the other reaching out, he begged,

"Stop." She just shook her head.

"Never." And then it hit Rosealyen that this went against all of her beliefs. She was allowing people to die, people that simply needed to heal. They didn't deserve to die. She rushed forward and knocked the box out of Hasani's hand. Tosset let go of the Doctor and rushed forward to help her. The Master tackled him and got him to the floor. He pinned him there as the Doctor gently walked over to the Fallen. He touched her forehead and she woke with a start.

"Architect!" she yelled, looking around wildly. "Creator!" She then noticed to the two bodies on the ground. Her breathe left her body quickly and she gasped as she tried to hold in a sob. She gritted her teeth and shook her head, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"Fallen," the Doctor said softly. She pivoted her head up to look into his eyes with her own tortured pair. He managed to hold her gaze, as much as he wanted to look away. "Fallen, what is your real name?" he asked softly, trying to hold her attention away from the macabre.

"Zorica…" she said raggedly. The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Zorica." The young Time-Lord shook her head more ferociously and glared at Hasani, who was being held back by the nurse.

"You did this! You killed them!"

"After they killed my family!" Hasani shouted back, nearly screaming. The Doctor stood up and walked over to the small box and looked at it sadly. Hasani kicked Rosealyen away and charged the Doctor. She managed to get him to the floor, salvaging her precious, sinful box from his grasp. She aimed it at the young girl.

"You can't kill me. I don't deserve to die." the Fallen said with a sneer.

"And my family did?" she demanded, not caring about the Doctor scrabbling to his feet or Rosealyen rushing forward.

"You're just humans. None of you matter." The scorn was undeniably dripping from the young Time-Lord's voice. Without any second thoughts, she hit the button for a third, and final, time. Everyone closed their eyes in anticipation. And, settled in the heavy silence that followed, there was the familiar sound of the TARDIS landing. The Doctor jumped to his feet and grabbed the machine from a not-moving Hasani. She was smiling, but not moving at all. The only reason she looked alive was the rising and falling of her chest. Slowly, ever so slowly, that smile began to twist into a frown. She blinked and looked at the Doctor.

"They're… dead…" she said, slowly, as though her mouth couldn't form the words. Rosealyen walked over to her and gently grabbed her arm. The TARDIS doors opened and out came Mesae. She looked at the bodies on the floor and at everyone else that was around them. Rosealyen led Hasani into the TARDIS, past the Engelin, who was listening carefully to everything going on. She heard a small, hiccupping sob escape from Hasani, so she followed the two women deeper into the TARDIS to help. Tosset stood up roughly, shrugging the Master away from him. He walked back to the TARDIS not looking at anyone. The Doctor and the Master stared at the dead Time-Lords at their feet. The Master knew the sadness that was coursing through the Doctor. He could feel it from where he was standing. The Doctor sank to his knees in front of the shorter man, the Architect. The Master kneeled beside him and put an arm around the Doctor's shoulder. He put his nose into the Doctor's hair and left it there, trying to comfort the only other Time-Lord left in the universe. The Doctor quietly moved to rest his head on the Master's shoulder.

"Koschei…" he couldn't find the words to put after the name, so he just stopped. The Master didn't reply right away. He wrapped his arms around the Doctor.

"This had to be done." he said, comfortingly. The Doctor blinked and tried to nod, but he couldn't death was never the answer. Everyone deserved a second chance. None of these Time-Lords had even provoked them. It was a terrible loss. The Master thought of something and gravely reached into the Doctor's jacket pocket. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and shifted away from the Doctor. "I'll be right back." he promised and pulled away from the younger Time-Lord. Mesae looked at the Doctor and walked over to him. She sat beside him as the Master walked away quickly.

"They're dead?" she asked. The Doctor nodded sadly. "And they were the only other Time-Lords?" she asked. The Doctor nodded again. "Oh." she mumbled apologetically and put a small hand on the Doctor's arm. She expressed her emotion mentally. She showed him the memory of her clutching her dead mother's hair and wailing as she tried to bring her back with everything she had been taught. The memory of her older brother blown to pieces before her very eyes. She pulled away, sniffling. The Doctor looked at the dead bodies in front of him and then at the young girl beside him. Her innocence had been stolen from her so young. It was a shame that she would never grow up like a normal child.

"Did they do that?" he asked. She nodded.

"But we have to move on from the dead." she said, scrubbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her too-large shirt. "Move on for the living." The Doctor shook his head that the wise young girl sitting beside him.

"So many people have willing given their lives for me. So many have died." She nodded.

"Because they know what you can do." She got to her feet. And explosion resounded from the heart of the ship and the Doctor worked his way to his feet, too emotionally dead to worry and rush. He walked slowly to the TARDIS as the ship's floor began to rock. The Master came barrelling down the hallway as the Doctor reached the TARDIS doors and walked inside. The Master jumped in and slammed the doors. He ran over to the control panel and set new coordinates rapidly. He pulled the lever and the TARDIS whirred to life, leaving the ship behind them.

"Did you bring the TARDIS?" he asked Mesae. She shook her head.

"No. The TARDIS started herself and brought us here." The Doctor leaned heavily against the railway. Mesae looked between the two Time-Lords and then walked into the hallway to find something to do and leave the Time-Lords to grieve the last of their race.

"What did you do?" the Doctor asked, softly. The Master walked over to the younger Time-Lord and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I blew up the machine they had made to harness my drums. And set the ship to pilot itself into an oncoming meteor shower." The Doctor buried his head in the Master's shirt and took a deep breath.

"We're the last ones." he whispered.

"Again." the Master added, sadness dipping into his voice.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: They Did Not Know

The Doctor opened the doors in front of him and let Mesae out into the desert first. "I've brought you back six years later. They've rebuilt the whole sanctuary by the looks of it." The girl looked ahead at a large, glass covered building that stood ahead of them. Her jaw dropped and she smiled. She turned back to her half-sister, who was just as shocked as she was. She stepped out onto the Rhian sand and shook her head. It was unbelievable. She turned back to the Doctor.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly. He nodded and looked to Hasani, who was lingering on the back of the control room. The Doctor walked over to Tosset and gave him what would have seemed like a hug. He pulled back, Tosset's vortex manipulator in his hand. He handed it to the Master, who pocketed it. Tosset grew furious.

"What are you doing?" he asked as the Doctor got behind the two and gently urged them to the doors. They both were standing in the sand before the Doctor answered.

"You two are too dangerous to be wandering the galaxy. I'm leaving you here in Rosealyen's care. I've talked to her already and she said that she would be more than happy to take care of you." Hasani didn't respond and stared at the sand whipping about her feet. Tosset glared at the two Time-Lords.

"Don't be angry with him." Rosealyen said quickly. "I offered for you to live here." Tosset scowled and shook his head.

"So we're animals to be shuffled between owners, then?" he demanded. The Master walked to the doorframe and leaned against it.

"Be thankful." he said, flashing a smile to the other man. "Because I would have dropped you off on some moon in the middle of the universe. At least you've got a nice home out there." Rosealyen walked over to the Doctor and kissed his cheekbones. She did the same for the Master, who obviously tried to avoid the contact. Mesae walked over and looked past them. She noted the Engelin in the back of the control room, listening intently to what was happening. The younger girl pointed her out to her sister, who tilted her head to the side.

"Eashi…" Rosealyen asked, stepping back into the TARDIS. "Do you want to come with us?" The young woman hesitated. "It would be no problem." The Engelin waved her face in front of where her eyes used to be.

"Even without sight?" she asked, her voice almost inaudible.

"We nurses deal with people with disabilities all the time. It will be fine." Rosealyen walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. She dropped the hand to fit inside of the Engelin's and led her out of the TARDIS. The Doctor stared after the two, wondering what would happen to them. Mesae offered a hand to Hasani. She didn't know that, someday, she and her sister would be revered as the most influential and important nurses in Rhian history. She didn't know that one day she would get married, have a baby boy, and name him Tei after the boy she had glimpsed through a Time-Lord's memories once.

Rosealyen smiled. She didn't know that, one day, she too would be married, that she would never have any children, and that her husband would be murdered by one of the patients at the sanctuary. She never would have guessed that she would become the person she did.

Eashi tilted her head up to the warm sun. It reminded her of the planet she was born on. The young woman never knew that she would find another Engelin in the sanctuary, a young boy that was promised to the Weeping Angels and then ran away. She never knew that she would end up raising him as her own son and he would later tell her tale for the generations to come.

Hasani whipped her head up to look at the Doctor. "You promised me that I could bring my family back." The Doctor shook his head.

"I can't. It would create a paradox. I'm sorry." She looked at Tosset. He didn't know that he would soon be in mourning that would last his entire life. He didn't know that Rhi would soon become his permanent home after he would be declared insane.

Hasani brought her hardening gaze to the ground, tears streaking her face. She didn't know that, two weeks later, she would be hanging from a balcony that she had jumped off of, a thick, metal wire around her neck.

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors as the Master set her to sit in space for a while. The Doctor threw the vortex manipulator over his shoulder and into a pile of junk building at the base of the TARDIS. He walked over to the small, silver box sitting in the corner, staring at it.

"Master?" he asked, not daring to touch it. "What should I do?" The Master hit the final button and the TARDIS rumbled. She materialized into space as the Master walked over to the younger Time-Lord. He looked at the machine and sighed.

"We should throw it into a black-hole." he offered, only somewhat jokingly. The Doctor shook his head.

"I need to destroy it." The Master nodded.

"Of course." he said and picked it up. He pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket where he had left it after he had taken it from the Doctor and aimed it at the box. He clicked it on and a low whine emitted from inside the machinery. There had been a time where he had helped create the Doctor's first sonic screwdriver. Those years felt like they were so long ago. And they were. The box began to smoke. The Doctor came up behind the Master and watched as the metal sheathing began to melt and a heavy smell encircled them. The smell of burning plastic and melting metals. The Master stopped and looked at it. The thing was no longer a threat, but a strangely shaped almost-cube. It almost looked a like a 'modern' statue that the humans loved so dearly during the twenty-first century. He didn't dare pick it up in case he burned himself, so he looked at the Doctor.

"What will I do about the Triangle Source? Now anyone from any time can harness unlimited energy once they find the right frequency and converter." The Master shrugged.

"Destroy the energy." he offered.

"But the energy quiets your drums." the Doctor argued. The Master shrugged again.

"I think that I can live with the drums if it keeps people like me from finding limitless energy to fuel their projects that will most likely destroy at least part of the universe." The Doctor looked shocked by the admission. "But the only reason I'd not want them to do it is because it's my job." he said backtracking and sounding very much like a young kid. The Doctor shook his head.

"I can't subject you to that. I let them swallow you once; I let them control you. I won't let that happen again." The Master grumbled something. "Hmm?" he asked.

"Look, the drums aren't bad when you're around. I'll forgive you for giving the drums back to me if you promise to keep them quiet." The Doctor took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"If this is what you want." he said. The Master rolled his eyes and handed the sonic screwdriver to the Doctor who accepted it and began to set the coordinates to Ancient Egypt and glanced back at the Master. The Master gave him a thin smile. He feared the drums and their inevitable approach. He began to walk down the hallway.

"Doctor, I'm going to leave this up to you. I'm going to wander around for a while." The Doctor nodded as the Master walked down the hallway, away from him. The Master felt his heart speed up. The beat that ruined his life was going to come back. Would it devour him again? He walked to the room that he and the Doctor shared as the TARDIS shook and landed. He sat on the sheet, enjoying his last moments without the drums. He smoothed the black and white sheets under his hands, frowning. What if he turned back into the old Master, the one who no longer cared about the Doctor, the one who only cared about power and control? He tapped his fingers together and tried to slow his rapidly beating hearts. He took off his tie and jacket. He put them outside of the room, along with a few other sharp objects. He closed the door and locked it. He knew that if he was truly desperate, he would simply unlock it and get out. He didn't want to turn back into the monster he had been. He moved back over the bed and laid down on it. He shook his head. Hasani had given him something that no one else had been able to gift him with and it had to be taken away as quickly as it was given. He put his head against the pillows beneath him and listened to the magnificent silence that engulfed him. He turned onto his side and pulled the blanket over his head and sat in the darkness.

_I am sorry_. the TARDIS said. He didn't respond back to her. In fact, he tried to ignore her. All he wanted was silence. _I will try to replicate the wave-lengths to help._ With that, she left him to wallow in silence.

It began quietly, at first, just a whisper. The Master shook his head. "No." he whispered. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. "No," he repeated desperately. "GO AWAY!" he yelled. They did not listen. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. They were louder and louder. Racking through his body. The Master tossed his head. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. He writhed, his fingers clutching his hair. Pain shot through his scalp, but he didn't care. It was so much. He gasped for air and tried to shake the noise out of his head. He shoved his nails into his scalp and dragged them toward his face. The drums were now unbearable. He was thrashing so hard that he fell off of the high bed and onto the floor. He didn't feel the blood dripping onto his white shirt, staining it. He also didn't hear the hurried footsteps in the hallway. He did hear someone trying to open the door. He threw his head back into the ground; the sound of the doorknob being twisted was too much. There was the sound of high-pitched whirring and the door popped open. The Doctor ran over to the older Time-Lord and grabbed his hands to pull them away from his face. The Master moaned and opened his eyes .He saw the concern in the younger Time-Lord's face.

"Master?" he asked, making the drums fade slightly. The Master blinked.

"Doctor. They're back." he whispered. The Doctor kissed him on the forehead.

"I know." he whispered. The Master tried to sit up, but the Doctor didn't let him. The Doctor moved away from the Master, but didn't break contact with the older Time-Lord's hands. He moved closer to the Master's head. He had noticed the blood underneath the Master's fingernails. He ran his lithe fingers through the Master's hair. His hands came back out, their tips covered in a sticky, red substance. "I can't leave you alone, can I?" he asked. The Master nodded.

"Never leave me," he commanded gently. The Doctor smiled sadly.

"I promise. I never will."


	15. Chapter 15 Bloopers

And now- some bloopers

1) The Doctor looked at the TARDIS control panel, an angry look at his face. He pointed down the hallway. "I asked for somewhere I'd like! But no! You gave me baggage!" (Brought to you by "Last of the Loneliness, her comment on the Doctor's situation)

2) The Master drew his knees up to his chest and clutched them there. The Doctor sat in from of him. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the Master began tapping a beat.

"Master." he said, softly. "Don't do that. It's only making you worse." The Master shook his head.

"You can't… You won't…" He began to shake violently, springing forward. He tackled the Doctor and pressed the Doctor's wrists against his sides. The Master put their foreheads together, letting the ringing tones running through his head finally be heard. The Doctor gasped and moved away as best as he could.

"But that noise! It never existed!" he cried. The Master nodded.

"The noise repeating." The Doctor paused.

"I am so sorry."

"It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all! It's a small, small world!" the Master sang out the tune of his torment. "It's always been that song, Doctor! Chasing me!"

"I can see why you went insane. That song's already stuck in my head." The Doctor began to hum it as the Master's hands shot towards the younger Time-Lord's throat.

"OH, I'M SORRY!" he yelled sarcastically. "IT'S BEEN STUCK IN MY HEAD FOR 900 YEARS!"

(Brought to you by Mousetalon and Last of the Loneliness. A bit of a joke about the most hated song in the universe.)

3) The Doctor looked at the fruit in his hands. The banana- He was cut off from his thoughts by a teenage girl standing in the doorway. She brushed her curly, dark brown hair out of her face and straightened her glasses.

"Hello, Doctor." she said, briskly. She walked over and ripped the yellow fruit out of his hands. She lifted it to the sky. "WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH BANANAS?" she demanded to the sky. The Doctor raised an eyebrow and reached out a hand to take the banana back.

"May I have that back? I was going to eat that banana." She whipped around, a scowl on her face.

"Never say that word again."

"Was there a reason that you were shouting to the roof of my TARDIS?" The girl scoffed and threw the banana violently against the wall.

"Yes. I was yelling at your author. For some stupid reason, she seems to be obsessed with bananas!" The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. "And they're in just about every eating scene there is in this fanfiction! Get a life, Kira. And a new fruit fetish."

A voice whined from the speakers of the TARDIS, "They're not fetishes!"

"You're just in denial, fruit-fetishist!"

"NO!" the voice in the TARDIS begged. "I'm not listening!" she cried before it clicked off. The black haired girl looked back at the Doctor and then at the banana on the floor.

"I think I've made my point. Go back to eating the object of your author's fetish." The Doctor looked at the suddenly unappetising fruit.

"It's not a fetish!" the speakers said once more.

"Denial!" the black-haired girl said, sauntering out of the kitchen. (And again, brought to you by Last of the Loneliness, who is positive that I have a fruit fetish after reading this fanfiction… I DON'T! I SWEAR!)


End file.
